Cherry Blossoms: A Shadow in the Mind
by Silence-Ell
Summary: Sakura was finally accepting Sasuke into her life when she is forced into a mission, alone, to the Land of Waves. ItaSaku some KakaSaku, SasuSaku and hinted KisaSaku REWRITING
1. Chapter 1

_This story is a rewritten version of one I had previously posted. Enjoy :D_

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_Cherry Blossoms:_

_A Shadow in the Mind_

_Chapter One: Interrupted_

It was just like any other day; every morning Sakura would wake up, take a quick shower, and head to the hospital when she wasn't on a mission for the ANBU.

So much had changed since the fall of the Akatsuki. Sasuke returned home, despite his failure to take his revenge, and was currently a jounin being watched closely by the ANBU. Naruto was training to be the next Hokage, and had married the beautiful Hinata. Sakura was not only the head of the hospital, but also a respected and admired ninja in the ANBU ranks.

With a sigh, Sakura twisted her long pink locks and held them up with four hair-sticks. She grabbed her eyeliner and lightly traced her waterline before slipping on her long doctor's coat over her dark red mini-dress. She stepped back to judge her appearance; she was only slightly taller now, though her body had finally filled out and she could show off, leaving Ino in the dust.

Looking over at the clock, she slipped on her red stilettos and headed out of her apartment. Immediately, she was hit by the morning humidity and the distinct scent of cherry blossoms was carried on by the soft breeze. A soft smile touched her lips.

As she passed the buildings and happy civilians, a sense of serenity washed over Sakura. The village was rebuilding itself nicely and expanding as well. The people of Konoha were stronger now, and the ties to the other villages strengthened the world of the shinobi.

"Sakura," a cool voice called from a small cluster of buildings.

She turned and saw a handsome shinobi strolling towards her. He wore all black, except the dark green jounin vest around his torso, and had a similar style hair to when he was younger, but his eyes were just as dark as ever.

"Oh, hey Sasuke," she gave him her sweetest smile.

He casually picked a rose from the bush beside him and tucked it behind her right ear.

"Don't forget," he leaned in close and wrapped an arm possessively around her waist, "we have a date tonight."

Sakura sighed softly, "I won't forget, Sasuke."

"You said that last time," he glowered as he stared at her lips, "and the time before that…"

He glanced down and saw something in her jacket pocket. He reached down and pulled out a small orange book.

"Oh…"Sakura blushed.

"_Icha Icha Paradise_?" He narrowed his eyes. "Spending some late nights with Kakashi?"

Sakura held up her hands in surrender. "It's not like that, Sasuke, we only had dinner once. He let me borrow his book…"

"Sakura," his voice was low and dangerous, "do I have to _talk_ to Kakashi? Need I remind you who you belong to?"

"_What_?" Her voice grew sharp. "I don't _belong_ to you, Sasuke. Until my name is Uchiha, I'm a free woman."

"Hn," he gave her his trademark smirk, "in due time, Sakura, in due time."

"Sasuke-sensei!" Three voices chirped loudly.

Sasuke groaned and let go of Sakura. They both turned and saw three genin running towards them. Two of the kids were boys, leaving on girl in their mix. One of the boys looked similar to Choji, with the same adorable little swirls on his cheeks, however with aqua eyes and short platinum blonde hair; he, of course, was holding a bag of chips. The other boy had spiky black hair with milky eyes; he seemed shy, but powerful, like both of his parents. The girl seemed to have dark brown hair that was held back into two braids and her blue eyes glittered with wisdom and boredom.

"You were late, sensei!" The Choji clone shouted. "Again!"

"Are you done talking to your girlfriend?" Shikamaru's daughter asked while fighting back a yawn.

"Girlfriend?" Sakura gave Sasuke a hooded glare.

"Hn. All right," Sakura half turned. "Don't forget, Sakura."

Just before he left, Kakashi rounded a building with his nose buried in the latest _Icha Icha_ book. Sasuke tensed and tossed the orange book he held straight at his former teacher's head. Being Kakashi, he caught the book without even looking before slowing his pace and giving Sasuke a confused and surprised look.

"Hey, Kakashi," Sasuke's voice was unnecessarily cool, "keep your hands off what isn't yours."

With that said, Sasuke turned around some buildings and disappeared out of sight with his students on his heels. Kakashi approached her and handed her the book back, which she put back in her pocket.

"What was that all about?" His dark eye was fixed on her beautiful emerald eyes.

"Oh, nothing," she waved her hand, "he just thinks we're sleeping together."

Shock froze Kakashi. "Wha…?"

Sakura giggled. "Are you doing anything at the moment?"

"I don't know," he mumbled, "will Sasuke kill me if I say 'no'?"

"Maybe," she linked her arm through his and began steering him towards the hospital. "I'll make sure he puts something sweet on your headstone."

"Oh, goodie." Kakashi grumbled. "So, why are we going to the hospital?"

"I need to check your eye," her voice was suddenly serious and her brow stitched together with worry. "I'm worried about it and you keep skipping out on your appointments. Afterwards, we could go out for a drink and you can show me your face."

"What makes you think I'd do that?" He gave her a quizzical look.

"Because I'm your favorite student," Sakura giggled. "Besides, I know how to get under your skin."

Silence fell between them as they walked towards the hospital. Sakura pulled out her book and began reading it; a distinct blush formed on her face and she nibbled on her bottom lip.

"You remember that last mission we had?" Kakashi spoke quietly, his eyes never leaving the book.

Sakura slowly tore her eyes away from the page she was and looked up at his half-covered face. "Yes. What about it?"

He sighed. "I wanted to apologize for stepping out of my boundaries."

Sakura remembered that mission well. It was an undercover mission and they had to pose as newlyweds to fool their target, so they could retrieve a bunch of scrolls that were stolen from a noble family. Upon investigating the layout of their targets home, they had been caught and forced to quickly take the scrolls and flee the city. She remembered having to stop in a cave, due to the blizzard that was whipping them. They had spent a few days in that cave and had nothing to start a fire with, so they had to use each other's body heat to survive while they waited out the storm. It had been an awkward time, so she understood how he felt, though she never told him that he had groped her in his sleep.

"Don't worry about it," her blush deepened. "If we hadn't, we would've died."

"I know," he sighed again as they entered the hospital.

They passed the front desk and the mousy woman behind the desk jumped when she saw Sakura walk in with her arm linked with Kakashi's.

"Lady Haruno," she squeaked when they both looked at her, "you have some mail."

Sakura dropped her book into her pocket and grabbed the heavy stack of envelopes.

"Thank you," Sakura smiled at the woman. "If anyone comes looking for me, can you tell them I will be busy with a patient?"

"Y-yes, Lady Haruno." The woman glanced at Kakashi and her face turned several shades of red.

Sakura could only guess what the woman was thinking of when they continued down an empty wing.

"So what room are we going to…?" Kakashi mumbled.

"My office." She replied as she shuffled through her mail.

He nodded and looked at the stack in her hands. "Looks like you have a fan club. I guess Sasuke is their president?"

Sakura giggled at the remark. Most of the mail was 'thank you' cards, a few were love letters from previous patients, and the rest was just paperwork.

They neared a closed door at the end of the hall. Without letting go of Kakashi, she opened her door and stopped dead in her tracks.

"He…" She stammered.

Her office was full of bouquets and vases of various flowers, boxes of chocolates, and a few bottles of wine. Each vase had a small card attached to it and on her desk was a small box that was wrapped in a floral foil.

"He really wants you," Kakashi spoke barely over a whisper.

"Yeah," Sakura said breathlessly, a sound that caught Kakashi by surprise and forced him to look down at the kinoichi before him. "Maybe I should cut him a break…"

She sighed and entered the room. Sakura gently closed the door as she motioned for him to sit in the chair in the middle of the room. She set her mail on her desk and crossed her room to the large window overlooking the village. Sakura opened the window and willed the morning air to fill her office. She leaned against the windowsill and allowed the sunlight to warm her skin.

"Shall we begin?" She turned to Kakashi and stumbled over her feet as she noticed he had put his book away and gave her his full attention. She walked over to him and sighed. "Can you show me your Sharingon?"

Kakashi lifted his hitai-ite to reveal his mismatched eyes.

Sakura summoned her chakra to her fingertips and placed them on his temples. "Have you experienced any headaches?"

"A bit," he mumbled.

"Do you get dizzy or lightheaded at all?"

"No."

"Ok," she shifted so she could focus on his eyes. "Look up."

He looked at the ceiling, but nothing changed.

"To the right."

Still nothing.

"Mmk. Now look to the left."

Everything was still fine.

"Look down."

Sakura felt him hesitate, but he eventually looked down. She hadn't realized that his eyes were in perfect line up with her chest, but she felt him hold in his breath and tense.

"Does that hurt?" She asked as she pulled away.

"A little," he choked out.

Sakura leaned back in and slowly probed the area around his left eye with a gentleness she rarely used. "Does this hurt at all?"

"No," his voice was thick and strained.

"Here?"

Kakashi took in a deep breath, "no."

Sakura let out a shallow breath and lowered her eyelids. "I need you to activate your Mangekyo."

"What?" Kakashi's voice went dark as his eyes found hers.

"Please?" Sakura gave him her puppy dog eyes.

He sighed and his eye left slowly changed. Instantly, Sakura felt a surge of chakra rush to his eye, but some of it had built up around the Optical Nerve. After analyzing it, she smiled in satisfaction and straightened up.

"I think I can fix this," she mumbled to herself as she leaned against her desk and placed one of her palms on the very edge while her other hand picked at a box of chocolates. "Your Optical Nerve is damaged, but that's an easy fix. Also, there are chakra points behind your eye that aren't completely attached, which would explain your headaches and it prevents you from deactivating your Sharingon."

Kakashi said nothing as she slipped a piece of chocolate into her mouth.

"There is good news," she rolled the piece over her tongue, "I can repair your eye. I might even be able to attach those chakra points. Then you can stop hiding behind your hitai-ite. However, every time you use your Mangekyo, it will reverse whatever I do to help you."

Kakashi didn't reply, so she swallowed the piece she had and slipped another one in her mouth.

"For me to keep your vision perfect," she paused to savor its flavor, "we'd have to spend every minute of our lives together. I would have to go on all of your missions and every day you would have to come to my office so I can make sure there isn't any chakra build up."

"I see," Kakashi spoke slowly as he pulled his hitai-ite down over his eye.

"If we don't do this," she gave him a measured look, "you could go permanently blind…and you won't be able to read _Icha Icha_ anymore."

Kakashi's eye widened and his mouth opened slightly.

"I could always read them to you," Sakura grinned devilishly, "but you'd have to show me your face."

Kakashi chuckled. "That sounds tempting…"

Sakura giggled and adjusted the chain necklace she wore. "I'll try to stop by the training yard before my date tonight."

He looked up at her with an unreadable expression. "So, you're going?"

She sighed and crossed her arms over her torso and held herself tightly. She could feel the pain in her chest rise to her throat and cause her eyes to burn with tears.

"I figured it was time I moved on," her voice was soft.

The chair Kakashi was in creaked as he stood up. Without a word, he pulled her into a tight embrace. Her lips trembled as she fought back the tears. There was a sharp pain in her chest and she took in a shaky breath to clam herself.

Kakashi pulled away from her and slipped a finger under her chin to get her attention. "Training ground three."

"I'll take off early and bring you lunch." She smiled.

Kakashi returned her smile, "two dates in one day, huh?"

Sakura giggled. She didn't really see it as date, but as a thank you for her through her hard times. Looking into her former sensei's eye, she could tell he knew that as well.

He walked to the door and let himself out without another word and walked out of sight. With a heavy sigh, Sakura walked around her desk and plopped down into her chair; she looked at the gift in front of her and cautiously, she opened it. Inside was a silver chain bracelet with emeralds embedded into it and a floral design was lightly engraved into it; Sakura smiled and slipped it over her wrist, surprised by how warm it was to the touch.

Heaving another sigh, Sakura shuffled through her mail and began to fill out the paperwork before her. She responded to some messages from patients about possible appointments and placed the 'thank you' cards in a draw in her desk that was full of them. She then stood up, paperwork in hand, and headed out of her office, down to the front desk to turn in the work. Afterwards, she wandered the halls, offering her help to the new employees and watching over them as they worked on patients. Satisfied, she took off to her apartment.

Once inside, she kicked off her stilettos and slipped off her jacket. Walking back to her room, she strapped on her kunai pouch to her left thigh and put her book in it. Sakura rested her feet on the bed and massaged out the knots before she slipped on her thigh-high kinoichi boots. Another quick glance in the mirror told her to strap on her arm guard to her left arm to hide her ANBU tattoo.

Sakura pulled the book out of her pouch and left with her nose buried in the book. She slowly made her way to Ichiraku Ramen. She was unaware of the stares that followed her or the whispers from the women who gave her jealous glares. She just remained in her own world, as Kakashi would, and walked through the crowds in the streets.

Once at Ichiraku Ramen, she bought six bowls of ramen and made her way to training ground three. She knew Kakashi didn't have a squad, since they failed the bells test and had to go back to the academy. So, she knew that he would be on-looking Sasuke's squad while hiding in a tree.

Sakura walked into the opening of the training ground and saw the three genin arguing over something and Sasuke was sitting under a tree, staring at the sky. The genin noticed her and stopped arguing immediately, which made Sasuke look up in her direction.

"I brought lunch," she smiled shyly under his heated gaze.

The three genin rushed over to her grabbed three bowls of ramen. Sakura joined Sasuke under the three and handed him a bowl, then set one on her lap. She noticed Sasuke looking at the extra bowl and frowned at her.

"Why six?" He sounded suspicious.

Sakura merely smiled at him and searched the trees for silver hair. Once she did, she raised a hand to beckon him over. Sasuke followed her gaze and she could see his aura darken and he tensed. To calm him, she placed a hand on his tight and squeezed it gently.

Kakashi approached them and took a seat on the other side of Sakura. He set down a bottle of sake and grabbed the last bowl. The three sat in silence for a bit, slowly passing the bottle until the alcohol took effect. They began to reminisce of the old days, when they were once in a squad together. They had finished their ramen, the genin were dismissed, and the three jounin were on their backs. Sakura had shifted closer to Sasuke and rested her head on his arm and twisted her legs with his, but her right hand was lightly brushing Kakashi's hand, who was sitting so close to her, he could smell her shampoo.

"Remember the time I caught you in a genjutsu, Sakura," Kakashi's words were on the verge of slurring. "All you did was scream and pass out. If I tried that now, you would kill me."

Sakura laughed and shook her head.

"What was it you showed her?" Sasuke's voice was on the same level as Kakashi's.

"Um…" Kakashi tapped his nose in thought. "I believe it was you, Sasuke, and you were…um…something to do with kunai?"

"Why would you scream and passh out from that?" Sasuke slurred as he looked at Sakura.

"Oh," her face changed several shades of red. "Don't you remember? I used to…have this ridiculously…huge crush…on you…"

Kakashi squeezed Sakura's hand before letting go and stood up. He stuck both of his hands in his pockets and turned towards the trees.

"I'll catch you two later," he waved before taking off into the trees and out of sight.

Sasuke propped himself up and stared down at her. His dark eyes hooded by his long bangs."You really felt that for me?" His voice was soft and his breath was warm on her skin.

"Well," Sakura tucked an imaginary lock of hair behind her ear, "it was more than that. The night you left, I begged you to stay. I begged you to take me with you. I even confessed my love for you. Don't you remember?"

He merely nodded.

"While you were gone," she continued, "I still held those feelings for you and I pushed myself to my limits and more to get you back." She shook her head to stop the tears from threatening her eyes. "After the fall of the Akatsuki, I forced myself to move on, though I still loved you. And now that you're back, I want to give in, but part of me won't let me."

"Sakura," his voice seemed warm, but stern, "I was a fool then. I was blinded by my rage and revenge and tried pushing everyone away. I thought by throwing friends, it would be easier. I was wrong…" Sasuke sighed. "While I was gone, I remember this valley full of cherry trees in bloom. I remember falling asleep under one, and I remember what I dreamt of. When I woke, I felt cold, empty. That dream made me come back."

Sakura bit her lip as Sasuke traced her jaw-line with his thumb.

"I dreamt of you…" his voice was quiet. "I realized how much I missed your smile, your laugh, and the way you blushed when I looked in your direction."

Tears welled in Sakura's eyes.

"When I woke in the hospital with you hovering over me, I realized how much I truly missed you and your obscene hair color." He leaned in close but stopped just before her lips. "I don't want to hurt you; I want to help heal your heart. And perhaps you can help me with mine…"

Sasuke closed the distance between their mouths and kissed her with more passion and heat than any other kiss she had ever gotten. Sakura gave in to what she had been denying herself since Sasuke's return. She wrapped her arms around his neck and tangled her fingers in his hair, encouraging him to deepen the kiss. She felt his tongue flick across her bottom lip, beckoning her to allow him entrance; Sakura parted her lips and Sasuke thrust his tongue into her mouth. She moaned into him as he ravished her mouth with ferocity than she expected.

Sasuke reluctantly pulled away and rested his forehead on hers, breathing heavily. Sakura smiled and caressed his face.

"Oh, Sakura," he whispered, "I-"

He was cut off by the wind suddenly kicking up and another presence was felt. Sasuke turned, fuming with irritation, but stopped when he saw three ANBU ninja standing before them.

The one in the middle stepped forward. "Lady Haruno, the Hokage needs you."

Sakura sat up, shock rattling her body.

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_Don't worry everyone. I know what I did with Sasuke, I have a plan for him. Keep reading 3_


	2. Chapter 2

_In this story, Sakura is a little over 20 years old and Kakashi is about 34. Please don't be angry with Sakura..._

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Cherry Blossoms:

A Shadow in the Mind

Chapter Two: Moving On

Sakura stood before Tsunade. She was still feeling slightly drunk from the sake. Sasuke was sitting outside of the room, no doubt ably listening to the conversation through the door. The three ANBU who had retrieved her were no standing behind her, all three of them silent.

"The terms of your mission are…complicated," Tsunade looked down at the sheet of paper before her as she spoke. "You'll be travelling to the Land of the Waves. I received a message earlier today that the lords' adopted son has fallen gravely ill and has asked for _you_ specifically."

"Land of the Waves?" Sakura repeated, uncertain. "I haven't been there since I was a girl…"

Tsunade nodded. "That's not all. The lord of the land expects you to be staying with them for a long period of time, if not permanently."

"M'lady," Sakura raised her hand up slightly. "May I ask what rank mission this is?"

"S-class."

Sakura's face hardened, "all right. Who will be in my squad?"

Tsunade paused and kept her eyes down. "You won't be having one. This is a solo mission."

"_WHAT!?_" Sakura shouted. "An S-class mission alone!? What about Sasuke? Or Kakashi? _Anyone!?_"

"That's enough, Sakura!" Tsunade stood, her temper matching Sakura's. "Sasuke is on probation and can't go on missions like this. If I ask Kakashi to join you, it would be in breach of the contract."

"Then why take it?" Sakura crossed her arms over her chest.

Tsunade sighed and handed over the contract for her to look over. Sure enough, this man wanted only her, but never once mentioned his son's name or age; he only mentioned that this guy was his only heir and needed her immediate assistance.

"Is…this right?" She was astounded by the pay. "Seven _billion_ ryō?"

"That's all yours," Tsunade's voice was quiet. "The village already took its cut."

"It's so much…" Sakura bit her lip. "Who would take over the hospital?"

"Shizune would, until you return, of course."

"My…return," Sakura repeated slowly; she highly doubted she'd be returning.

"You are to go back to your apartment, grab your ANBU gear as well as medical supplies and civilian clothing. I want a full report every two days using the jutsu Sai taught you with ink."

"What if I need back up?" Sakura suddenly felt heavy.

"Not to worry," Tsunade handed her a large scroll. "On that scroll is all of the backup you'll need. Our best shinobi are connected to that scroll, so all you'll have to do is summon them to you."

Sakura took the scroll and nodded.

"A group of ANBU will escort you to the edge of Fire Country," Tsunade walked around her desk and stopped in front Sakura, "from there on you'll be on your own."

"Very well." Sakura bowed before giving Tsunade her back, causing everyone to gasp at her sudden rudeness. "Good bye, M'lady."

She wrenched the door open and walked passed Sasuke without a word. Sasuke stood in front of her, stopping her in her tracks. Sakura looked up at him, unable to express herself.

"Sakura," he was quiet, "you are going to leave? Just like that? What if you don't return?"

"If I don't return," Sakura's voice was strangely monotone, "then you'll have to move on, like I had to."

"What do you even _mean_ by that?" Sasuke growled as he gripped her shoulders.

She looked away. She knew this wasn't her and knew that she could just as easily wrap her arms around his neck and make tons of promises of her return, but she wasn't sure she was returning and she didn't want to be responsible for making empty promises. Sakura didn't want to get anyone's hopes up, as much as her own and only end up hurting everyone she held dear to her.

Sakura placed a hand on top of Sasuke's and gently removed it from her shoulder. She then looked at him with all the kindness she could muster at the moment before brushing past him and heading towards the building without looking back.

She couldn't believe her own senpai was sending her on an S-class mission without a squad. Sure, it may have only been classified as such to the amount of the pay, but a man who can afford that much and _still_ be ridiculously rich was bound to be the target for powerful enemies. Even if she could completely heal this heir, who was to say she could even make it back to Konoha?

As Sakura passed the buildings, she felt herself go cold. She was leaving being everyone she loved and for some reason, the only thing she could feel was indifference. The only thing she could really do was write all of her friends letters explaining her sudden disappearance; she knew they would find out soon, but she wanted it to be from her.

Once she arrived at her apartment, Sakura quickly changed into her all black ANBU uniform, conveniently leaving behind her mask, since she never really wore it anyhow. She pulled out her pack from under her bed and began packing her medical books, the ink Sai gave her, civilian clothing and her kunoichi boots, her herbs and poisons, and antidotes. She set her summoning scroll gently in the pack along with her wallet, which was overflowing with unspent ryō.

Sakura turned around and looked at her empty room. There were a few items she was leaving behind; pictures, mostly, but there was also a worn-out hitai-ite that was broken in half that was resting before a photo that was turned down. She wanted to lift the picture, but her heart just couldn't take looking into his eyes again…

Sakura sat at her desk and began writing letters to each of her friends, explaining in detail how much they each meant to her and why she took this mission. She reminisced about the past and explained some embarrassing situations she thought she'd take to the grave. To Kakashi, she told him that she was glad they could finally see each other as equals and hoped to get to heal his eye and finally confessed that the time they spent in that cave was not entirely unpleasant; she also informed him that he still owed her for saving his life from that group of horny rogue kunoichis. Finally, to Sasuke, she told him that she truly wanted a future with him, but the life of a shinobi is unpredictable and dangerous; she told him she wished him well and gave him her blessing to whomever he married.

Sakura held _Icha Icha Paradise_ in her hands, aware of the familiar chakra of the man sitting on her windowsill. Of course he knew about her mission, her former sensei knew everything.

"I was just going to return this to you," her voice was small.

"No need," Kakashi's smooth voice calmed Sakura's growing anxiety. "I bought you're the rest of the series."

Sakura whirled around and saw Kakashi holding the other three books of the series before his sincere features.

"Kakashi…I…" she stumbled over her words. "Why?"

"So we can discuss them," his right eye crinkled with his smile, "when you return."

"Oh," she looked at her feet. "Kakashi, I don't think I'll be-"

In the blink of an eye, Kakashi stood before her with his index finger pressed against her lips, an unreadable expression on his face and a darkness lurking behind his eye.

"Don't sell yourself short, Sakura," his voice was sounding thick and forced. "And when you return, maybe I'll show you my face."

"Really?" Sakura threw her arms around Kakashi's neck, knocking him off balance.

They fell to the ground; Sakura was curled on Kakashi's torso and he was flat on his back. Kakashi grumbled curses under his breath as he rubbed his head and Sakura pushed herself up so that she was sitting on his mid-section.

'Damnit, how many times do I have to…um…" his voice trailed off as he looked up at her; Sakura could have sworn he was blushing, but it was gone before she could confirm this.

"Hm?" She stood and helped her former sensei to his feet.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck and smirked. "You forgot to put your armor on…again."

Sakura looked down and groaned, sure enough, she had forgotten her armor because the black cloth hugged every womanly curve on her body. She slowly turned and opened her closet; she grabbed her chin-guards and strapped them into place before grabbing her arm-guards and doing the same thing. She looked up and eyed her breast-plate, she had never once been able to put it on alone, do to her sudden blossoming into womanhood.

"Kakashi, I don't suppose you could…" Sakura turned and saw him place the books into her pack.

He looked up at her, "I know, I know."

She stood back as he brushed past her and took her last piece of armor. Kakashi gently set it on her and moved to her back side to secure it on.

"Ouch, not so tight." Sakura half-whispered. "I have breasts now…"

Kakashi grumbled something unintelligible under his breath as her finished. Without her permission, he snapped on her small medical kit to her belt and her kunai pouch to her thigh. Sakura gasped as he set her heavy pack onto her shoulders and strapped her katana to the pack.

She turned and saw him staring at her with an unreadable expression. "Are you ready?"

Sakura shook her head and moved past him to get to her vase full of white roses and picked the fullest one. "I would like to visit the memorial before I go."

Kakashi nodded and escorted her out of her apartment. The village was quiet as they walked side-by-side; neither of them spoke, but rather enjoyed each others' company for a little while longer.

Once they arrived, Kakashi kept a safe distance behind her, giving her room to breathe.

Each memorial stone had the name of an honorable shinobi engraved upon it. Each shinobi gave their life for Konoha and their loved ones; most of these people had died in the war against the Akatsuki, the others were killed by Hebi, and thus, Sasuke.

Sakura stopped before a flat memorial stone and bowed her head.

"Hey," her voice was soft and warm, but sad, "I'm sorry I haven't come by recently. You know how busy it can get at the hospital…" She slipped off the necklace from around her neck and wrapped it around the white rose. "The real reason I came here is because I'm heading out on a mission, and I don't know if I'm coming back…" Sakura's voice began to crack. "I need to do this, so that I can move on and stop blaming myself for what happened; I know that's what you'd want anyways. I will always cherish what we had and you will always have a place in my heart…so, I guess this is it…" she placed the rose and necklace on the stone. "Good bye, Lee."

Sakura wiped away a tear as she kissed the cold stone and turn towards Kakashi. She had known him long enough to know when he was upset: his shoulders were slumped and his hands were in his pockets and his right eye shimmered with unshed tears.

"Kakashi," her tone was just as warm, "I-"

He stopped her by placing a finger on her lips. "Just come home to us in one piece."

Sakura smiled weakly and nodded. She grabbed his hand and tip-toed to place a soft and innocent kiss on his masked lips. She felt him freeze and decided to pull away after placing all of the letters in his vest pocket.

"Thank you," she whispered before pulling up her cloth mask to hide her features the way Kakashi's mask hid his face. "I'm ready."

Kakashi nodded and they headed out of the gates and away from Konoha. Once they were far enough away from the city, a rather large group of ANBU surrounded them; none of them dared a glance at Sakura.

They slowed their pace as the end of Fire Country came into view. When they got within ten feet, the ANBU shinobi stopped and watched as Konoha's living Cherry Blossom crossed the border, a single tear falling from her eyes as she left behind everything she knew and loved.

* * *

_Yes, Sakura was in a relationship with Rock Lee before Sasuke came home. They were together for 3 years before he was killed by Pein, but I'll get into that later. _


	3. Chapter 3

Cherry Blossoms: A Shadow in the Mind

Chapter Three: The Cold

It been about a week since Sakura left Konoha. All of her friends were irate with Lady Tsunade; Naruto had stormed into her office, demanding the return of his old teammate. Since then, each of the people who had received a letter from their own Cherry Blossom met for a drink every night.

Sasuke slammed his glass on the table and looked about the faces before him; Naruto was sulking with his face turning purple, Ino was sobbing, Kakashi left early, again, and he himself was ready for another round.

Naruto sighed loudly. "Do you remember the time I attacked you and tied you up in your apartment?"

Sasuke thought back to that moment and grunted.

"I transformed into you and tried to get Sakura to kiss me," he chuckled, "it almost worked, but I had gotten indigestion and ran off…"

Sasuke stared at his friend. "Hn, that explains a lot…"

"So," Naruto half choked. "Did you ever think there was something between Kakashi-sensei and Sakura-chan?"

Sasuke's head snapped up. "Excuse me?"

"Well, think about it. They are always together and I'm sure you noticed how he watches her. He wouldn't let just anyone drag him to the hospital.' He took a swig from his glass. "It would explain why Kakashi hides more than usual…"

"Shut up!" Ino screeched. "Kakashi is just worried about Sakura. She is like his daughter! Besides, Sakura has always been in love with Sasuke and she always will be. And when she gets back, she is going to marry him!"

"Then how do you explain Bushy Brow?" Naruto yelled back.

"Bushy Brow?" Sasuke repeated the name.

"Rock Lee." Ino answered drunkenly.

Sasuke choked on his drink and threw himself into a coughing fit. "What?"

"Yeah, tell me about it." Naruto huffed. "It started as a partnership for missions. They were amazing together! They had this cool move where Lee would use his speed and strength to make Sakura fly and she'd use her super human strength to destroy whole buildings and mountains! I think they were partners for a year before everything happened…" Naruto sighed. "I remember that night…Sakura showed up at my door and cried all through the night. She kept talking about how she was betraying Sasuke, even though he didn't love her back…"

Sasuke dropped his head.

Ino eyed him suspiciously as Naruto lost himself in his thoughts.

"So," she swirled her drink, "how _do_ you feel about her?"

Sasuke gaze the blonde a side glare.

"I mean, you never really paid any attention to her." She continued. "When we were in the chunin exams, she almost killed herself to prove herself to both of you and Naruto."

There was a loud commotion at the front of the bar. It looked like Kiba and some other shinobi were in a neck-to-neck argument over something. Ino and Naruto rushed to stop the fight, leaving Sasuke with his thoughts.

He took this moment to quickly duck out of the bar and into the humid night. Sakura's mission certainly put a setback in his plans. Sasuke could only hope she would work hard so she could come back to him sooner; he was getting restless just waiting…

* * *

Sakura sat perched on a tree, watching a group of rogue shinobi trying, and failing, to track her. They had been following her for the past couple of days and they were just terrible at being ninja.

There were four of them; two of them were identical and they both seemed like push over's, there was one with a blazing red hair and was the biggest of the bunch and the last was shorter and faster and was obviously the leader. She couldn't tell what land they were from, but assumed they were of The Village Hidden in the Mist, judging by their jutsus.

Sakura adjusted her footing and hopped off the branching, landing in the middle of the clearing. She slowly straightened up and looked the leader straight in his ugly face.

"Were you looking for me?" Her voice was calm, but dangerous.

The leader growled. "Get her, boys!"

Sakura smirked as three of them leapt at her all at once. In the blink of an eye, she had unsheathed her katana and ran the blade through the biggest ninja, cut off the head of one of the twins, and jammed it into the other twin's stomach and slid it up to his chest before yanking it back out before cleaning the blade by wiping it on one of the bodies. Sakura looked back at the leader as she sheathed her sword, but kept her one hand on her hilt and the other in her kunai pouch.

She watched his movements closely, knowing he had to be a better ninja than the others, by the way he concealed his chakra. Sakura noted how this dark haired shinobi favored his right leg and saw he was missing two fingers from his right hand.

"Hn." Sakura pulled out a couple of kunai and tossed them at the man before her.

She watched as he pulled out a kunai with his left hand and deflected the kunai. He was fast, but his right hand was his dominate hand, judging by how awkwardly he held his kunai.

"A leaf shinobi," he muttered as he straightened and put his kunai back his pouch. "I should have realized it sooner by your hair color. My apologies for disrupting you, Cherry Blossom of Konoha."

With that said, he bowed and left the cleaning the never once shed a tear for his fellow ninja, perhaps he just didn't care for them.

Sakura shrugged and adjusted her pack before heading in her usual direction. She could tell she was about a half a days travel from the Land of Waves. She had figured there would be small village before she reached her destination, so Sakura would get the chance to write her report and change her clothes.

In a fury of leaves and cherry blossoms petals, Sakura sprinted through the trees. She knew she was ahead of schedule, but she couldn't spare a moment to save her new patient.

It wasn't long before she reached a small village on the outskirts of the Land of Waves. Sakura located the nearest inn and bought a room. Since she was filthy, she had the petite woman behind the front desk direct her to the only hot spring in the village. Sighing, she headed to the edge of the village, towards the hot spring.

"Hn." Sakura snorted as she looked at the sign. "Co-ed."

With a shrug, she entered the women's locker room and was soon in the hot spring in no time; completely naked and chest deep in steaming water surrounded by men and women alike.

Sakura looked at herself in the water, barely able to recognize herself; sure, she still had her glowing emerald eyes, pale skin, rosy cheeks, and pink hair that was now hidden under a white towel. She still looked the same, but this women looking back at her was not the same Sakura, this women staring back at her was not innocent, there was no hold on love or happiness dwelling behind her eyes…she was cold and bitter towards life. This woman is not Haruno Sakura…

'Hey beautiful," she heard a smooth voice say.

Sakura looked up and saw a man with sandy blonde hair and pale blue eyes standing before her. He was tan, she supposed, and had a well toned body. He had a tattoo of a dragon on his shoulder.

"Is this seat taken?" he smiled at her coyly.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "No, not really."

He sat beside her, his eyes never leaving hers. "I've never seen you here before. You new?"

"Just passing through," Sakura smirked. "I'm on my way to Lord Takagashi's manor."

"Really?" he seemed to be interested. "For what, may I ask?"

"I'm their new doctor." She spoke flatly.

"Ah, where are my manners?" He chuckled softly, a pleasant sound, and a lock of sandy hair fell in front of his face. "My name is Haguto Masami, and what is your name?"

"Haruno Sakura." Sakura smirked as his smiled broadened.

"Cherry blossom," he mused, "so fitting. You are quite the beauty. Tell me, are you here with anyone?"

"No, no," Sakura shook her head. "I'm traveling alone."

Masami's gaze lightened and he shifted closer to her. "It's an awfully dangerous journey. You must be a shinobi."

A grin graced Sakura's lips and her cheeks groaned from the sudden action. She could feel her fatigue growing and her body ached from travel. She looked up at Masami through her eyelashes and gave him the sweetest fake smile she could muster.

"Well, if you'll excuse me," Sakura's voice was deep and thick, "I've had a rough journey so far and I'm incredibly exhausted. I believe I'll head to the inn for some rest."

She stood straight up, her bare backside facing Masami. Sakura heard him suck in a breath before she wrapped a towel around her torso and loosened the towel around her head, allowing her pink strands to cascade down her back.

She looked over her shoulder at a suddenly tense Masami. "It was nice meeting you."

Sakura walked towards the women's locker room, water dripping from her skin.

* * *

_My apologies for the late update. Work has pretty much consumed my life right now. This chapter isn't particularly good, but it is suppose to show how Sakura sees herself now. Stayed tuned for the next chapter, it will be full of surprises. _

_Thank you all for your wonderful reviews.  
_


	4. Chapter 4

_Before I get yelled at, I know that the substance Sakura used on Kunkoro wasn't water, but for the life of me I don't know it by name...so she is using water._

* * *

Cherry Blossoms:

A Shadow in the Mind

Chapter Four: Wake Up Call

Sakura stood outside of the manor before her. It was three stories tall and had a traditional look to it. There were wild flowers all over and birds sang as they danced with each other in the sky. The manor looked welcoming and friendly, despite the country it presided in.

She looked down at herself and adjusted her black mini dress. There were slits on her sides that reached her hips and a circle on her chest that resembled her family crest and revealed a generous amount of cleavage. The sleeves were loose and hung off her shoulders, black mesh was set into random parts of her body; on the top part of her left arm, her right forearm, and her entire right leg. She still wore her cloth mask to cover a majority of her face and neck. Her hair was just lazily put in the same style she always wore it in, a messy bun with four red and black hair sticks holding it in place.

A servant walked by and looked at her suspiciously, but kept walking by.

_Well, I suppose_, Sakura thought as she walked up the stone path and put on her professional face.

She hadn't even made it to the stairs when she heard a loud crash followed by shouting from somewhere inside. Sakura ran in to the manor and bolted into the direction the noise came from, not paying attention to the startled stares from the servants or the exotic wall art. There was another loud crash as Sakura stood outside of the room; without hesitation, Sakura slid the door to the side and entered the room.

There must have been eight servants standing in the room, holding down a man who was thrashing violently and groaning from pain. In the corner were unconscious men, bruises marring their faces and blood freely flowing from their noses.

Sakura crossed the room to the bed and dropped her pack. She pulled out her flashlight and pushed her way to the man on the bed. Whatever Sakura was ready for, it certainly wasn't this; on the bed was man with short dull black hair and paling skin, his eyes were squeezed shut and blood trailed down his face. His lips were swollen and held a blue tint under the dried blood that was encrusted to them.

Sakura placed a hand on his forehead, he was burning up.

"Hold him down," she commanded as he jerked away from her touch.

She placed her head to his chest and listened to his ragged breaths and racing heart beat. Sakura smirked; he was drenched in a cold sweat with a high fever and violent seizures – he was poisoned.

Sakura straightened and set on her calm face before turning to the servants.

"Get me a large bowl, some rags, and some water." She barked out. "I'll also need four of you to hold him down, this won't be pleasant for him."

The servants scattered while Sakura cleared the table next to the bed and emptied her bag of her medical scrolls, mortar and pestle, and herbs. She began mixing herbs with water and it aside to heat with a weakened flame jutsu that emitted from blowing through her fingers after making a series of hand signs.

One of the servants returned with a bowl full of warm water. Sakura motioned for him to set it on the table before her, next to an empty glass.

Sticking a hand in the bowl, Sakura focused her chakra around a small amount of the liquid to create a sphere above her palm.

"Ok, keep him still." Sakura lowered the sphere to her patient's chest and forced it into his body; doing to him what she had done to save Kunkoro all those years ago. Instantly, the man began twisting and thrashing, but Sakura ignored him while she surrounded his heart with the water and withdrew a majority of the poison. She stretched the water throughout his body and slowly began tugging at the toxin, removing the worst of it and pushing it out of his skin. At the same time, she carefully pulled out the sphere of water from his body, a swirling dark green substance in the center of it.

Gasps filled the room like a tremor as she moved the sphere to the empty glass and allowed the toxin to dip into the glass. Afterwards, she dropped the water back in bowl and turned back to her patient who was breathing heavily and his eyes fluttered. Drawing chakra to her hands, making them glow a brilliant green, she searched his body for any series damage that could have been done to him. After a few moments, she had healed the torn tissue, but as she moved lower, shock struck her.

"What the…" She began saying, but wasted no time fusing her chakra into his stomach.

_Glass…_her breath caught. _As little poison as there was in his system. I had no idea anyone would ever put glass in it…_

Slowly, the powdered glass began to disintegrate, once it was all gone, she healed the damage in his stomach and intestines. Sighing heavily, she soaked the rag in the water and cleaned off all of the remaining poison and blood from his exposed skin. Sakura furrowed her brow as she looked at her patient while she whipped his skin clean; he seemed so familiar to her…

Murmurs of surprise filled the room as the patient's breath slowed to an even pace and his body relaxed.

Sakura smirked through her mask and turned her attention back to the antidote. She took a dropper, sucked up a little bit of the antidote, took another dropper and sucked up that substance as well. She then dropped the toxin in the circle of a medical scroll and followed that with a drop of the antidote and let out a small squeak as it disappeared into a puff of smoke. Turning to her patient, vial in hand, she lifted his head and eased the liquid into his mouth, using her chakra to guide it down into his stomach and let it do it's job. Carefully setting his head back down, she looked at his face and held her breath as she caught his intense gaze before he closed his eyes.

_Those…eyes…_she thought, stunned.

Everyone stared at her in awe, completely impressed with her. A wave of applause broke out, causing Sakura to smile weakly as she swayed slightly. She was exhausted from the amount of chakra she had lost.

"You must be Dr. Haruno," an elderly man entered the room. "I'm pleased that you have saved my son, Ita."

Sakura looked at the frail old man; his skin was aged, wrinkled from his days and his long gray hair was tied back into a long braid that reached the middle of his back. He wore a long white robe with a red sash across his chest and a strange gold symbol that resembled a knot was embroidered on his sleeves. She noted that he walked with a limp as he came closer to inspect his son and his breathing was shallow.

"I'm Lord Takagashi," he smirked. 'I hadn't expected you to be so…"

"Young?" She offered, placing a hand on her hip and leaning into it.

"Beautiful." The old man chuckled at her shock. "I always thought kinoichi were suppose to be rather masculine and marred with scars; then again, I guess that's why you wear that silly mask."

Sakura furrowed her brow at the old man, but said nothing.

Takagashi wiped away an invisible tear and shook his head. "Nearly a century to my life and I've still got it." Seriousness gripped him and his body stiffened. "If you'll follow me, I can give you information on Ita."

Sakura followed him out of the room and into the well-decorated hall.

"He's been sick for so long." Takagashi muttered to himself. "We had medics from about every village to try and heal him, but to no anvil. May I ask, what was he ill with?"

Sakura sighed. "He was heavily poisoned. There wasn't much of the toxin, but it was glass based and it tore apart his internal organs, which I already healed over before giving him the antidote. Forgive me for intruding, but would you happen to have any enemies?"

Takagashi stopped before a dark mahogany door and let out a shaky breath as he opened the door. Inside was a small study with a wooden desk to one side, bookshelves covering the walls, and a fireplace beside the only window in the room that overlooked a small garden. Once inside, Takagashi closed the door and walked over to the window.

"As a wealthy lord, I have many enemies." He spoke without taking his eyes off the window. "But Ita has many and all are powerful shinobi, like yourself."

Sakura sat silently, tensing by his every word.

He walked over to his desk, picked up his pen, and began writing while he spoke. "If you haven't recognized him yet, you will in time. Though, I must beg of you to refrain from attacking him and reporting him to your Hokage. I know he is innocent of his crime and in time, you will see it too."

Sakura's eyes narrowed at the old man. She had to bite her tongue to refrain from screaming at him. "Why would I do that?"

He looked at her straight in the eye, his pale blue eyes glittering with wisdom. "If you do not give him a chance, then I cannot give Konoha their payment and they will have to suffer more than it has. However, provided he opens up to you, you can decide to report him or not from there." He paused and continued writing, stopped to look it over before sliding it over to her. "Now, Dr. Haruno, do I have your word?"

Sakura looked at the document, it had contained everything he had just said and stated that she would not report him until she learned his story and if she did not believe it then she was allowed to do as she wished without consequence. At the bottom of the page, Lord Takagashi had signed his name, so she grabbed the pen and signed her name as well.

_This has got to be the dumbest thing I have ever done_, Sakura thought after handing him the contract and sitting back, a stoic look on her features.

"All right, so I won't report him," Sakura paused. "Provided he convinces me that he is innocent. In the mean time, I will need directions to the hospital here. I need to get some supplies for your son's recovery."

"Very well," Lord Takagashi stood, obviously amused by something, "I will arrange an escort for you."

Sakura stood and followed him out of his study. He pointed her into the direction of the front of the house and without glancing back; she made her way to the exit. A young man was standing at the bottom of the steps with his hands in his pockets.

The man wore all black with a white knot crest embroidered on his back. His hair was platinum blonde and held back in a loose ponytail, contrasting his dark tan skin and light green eyes.

"Dr. Haruno," he bowed, his voice was smooth and sounded a bit arrogant. "I'm Kouki, I will be your escort to the hospital."

Sakura reached his side and nodded. He led the way off Lord Takagashi's land and straight into a busy city.

* * *

Itachi groaned as he tried rolling on his side. His entire body seemed to be on fire, but not as much as it had been before _she_ showed up.

There was a shuffling sound near the door; Itachi didn't have to open his eyes to know who it was.

"Old man," his voice was raspy and his throat raw as he spoke.

"It's probably best if you don't talk." Lord Takagashi chuckled before sitting beside the bed. "Nice to see you're finally awake. The doctor should be back soon; she had to pick up some supplies from the hospital."

Itachi sighed.

"Just looking at her, you would never guess she was a doctor." He sighed. "Pink hair, of all things."

Itachi froze, so he hadn't been dreaming. He only knew of one female ninja who was a genius with medical jutsus and had pink hair. He turned his head and glared dangerously at the old man, his vision darkening.

Takagashi laughed, not phased by Itachi's glare, and set his hand on the youth's head. "Don't fret, I made her sign a contract saying she wouldn't turn you in. You have to tell her what happened and if you convince her, you'll be fine."

Itachi still said nothing and looked at the ceiling. He heard the old man stand and walk towards the door.

"Besides," the old man's voice bled amusement, "she really is quite beautiful; she'd be breathtaking if it wasn't for that damn mask." Takagashi laughed. "If I was sixty years younger…"

Itachi groaned loudly to drown out the rest of that sentence, though he could still hear that perverted old man laughing down the hall.

* * *

Sakura raised a brow at Lord Takagashi, who was laughing like a man gone mad. He passed her with a wink and continued on his way. She pinched the bridge of her nose and adjusted the rather heavy box on her hip.

Sighing, Sakura paused before entering her patient's room. The man was still sleeping, or so it would appear; his breaths were short and even, but his chakra flared dangerously the closer she got. Ignoring his threat, she set the box on the floor and took out her stethoscope to check his vitals.

Just as she began pulling down the blanket, to expose his bare chest, a hand squeezed her wrist. Sakura met red eyes as she glanced up and soon found herself pinned to the bed, a kunai to her throat and a very deadly Uchiha on top of her in an extremely embarrassing position.

The Sharingon user's eyes narrowed, but did not dare move or speak.

Sakura leveled her breathing and kept her composure calm and professional, void of all other emotions. "Uchiha-san, if you do not remove yourself, I cannot do my job."

"I do not remember you ever wearing a mask, Haruno-sama." His voice was equally calm, but no less dangerous.

Sakura's smirk was hidden by her mask, "Uchiha-san, my appearance is the least of your worries. Now, will you _please_ let me up before a servant walks by and gets the wrong impression?"

Sakura saw him contemplate it before removing his kunai from her throat. With more grace than she knew she had, Sakura slipped out from beneath him and stood beside the bed and adjusted her clothes. She could feel Itachi's intense glare burn her flesh as she turned around slowly.

"It's amazing you can move that quickly after being poisoned with a glass-based toxin." She lowered herself to check all of his vitals, amazed by his sudden recovery. Sakura set aside her stethoscope and took out her flashlight from her medic's pouch. "You'll gave to deactivate your Sharingon while I check your eyes."

While she spoke, Sakura's emerald eyes locked onto Itachi's heated gaze. She hid all of her emotions and allowed her courage to surface, knowing it unnerved him that she was not the least bit intimidated by him.

Sakura scowled, as he did not listen. "_Please_ deactivate your Sharingon, Uchiha-san."

Itachi smirked as his blood red eyes faded to black.

"Thank you," Sakura mumbled in her sweetest but darkest tone.

She set to work by flashing the light in his eyes, his pupils reacted accordingly, if not a little slower than they should have. Sakura also caught a glimpse of his enhanced retinas and chakra flow.

"Fascinating," she whispered before placing her flashlight in her medic's pouch and pulled out a thermometer. "Now say 'aah'."

Itachi glared at her, but opened his mouth to allow her access. Sakura had to suppress the urge to giggle as she stuck the thermometer under his tongue before turning around to the box on the floor.

She pulled out bits of a metal stand and screwed it together. Sakura then pulled out a bag filled with yellow liquid and a long tube that was clamped at the bottom. Lastly, she pulled out a small box that contained different IV needles of various sizes; Sakura giggled at the idea of shoving the biggest needle in Itachi's arm. Deciding against it, she choose a small needle and closed the box before turning around, only to be stopped dead by a pair of red eyes blazing with…something Sakura couldn't identify.

Sakura suppressed yet another urge to fawn over an increasingly attractive, half naked Uchiha with a thermometer in his mouth as she rubbed his forearm with some cotton. A loud short series of beeps made her freeze as she remembered the thermometer; hesitantly, she turned her head and grabbed the meter without having to look him in the face.

"No fever," she sighed. "Remarkable…you heal so quickly, almost as fast as Naruto-kun."

Sakura was lost in her own thoughts, nearly driven to tears by the mere mention of her dear friend's name. Her heart wrenched painfully as she thought about how she had left, what he felt when he read her letter, what he was feeling now…

"Doctor Haruno-sama," a low, calm voice pulled her from her thoughts.

Sakura blinked several times, unaware of the single tear running down her face. "I'm sorry…"

Without a word, she set about prepping Itachi to stick the IV in him.

She positioned herself above him. "It will help if you relax, it won't hurt as much." She felt his tension ease. "Take in a deep breath—" he did "—now let it out." As he let out his breath, she carefully pierced his skin with the needle.

In the blink of an eye, Itachi had medical tape strapped to his arm, keeping in the needle that pumped fluids into his system.

With a heavy sigh, Sakura backed away from the bed and collapsed onto the ground, unconscious from exhaustion.

* * *

_There is my attempt at the Uhicha's humor...wait til he finds out what's in her pocket *evil grin*_. _Please leave your reviews ^^_


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N:_

_I am soo sorry about the late update. It appears work as consumed my life. _

_Also, I am really sorry about how slow this chapter is. I was only trying to capture how shinobi are refused the simple pleasures we enjoy, but they are still weak to them because they are merely human. I promise you the story gets better from here on out. Things get heated in the sixth chapter between our two main characters and Tsunade becomes meddlesome. _

* * *

_**Cherry Blossoms:**_

_**A Shadow in the Mind**_

_**Chapter Five: **_

_**Only Human**_

Itachi stared at Sakura. She definitely knew how to hide the fact that she had almost no chakra left in her system; he'd give her that.

He knit his brow together as he gazed at the pink-haired kinoichi; he never remembered her to wear a cloth mask to hide her features. He also recalled how her emerald eyes burned with a ferocious flame that threatened to burn him on their first encounter, though now that flame seemed to be extinguished. She certainly had matured from that moment, however; here curves were very much womanly and perfect for her petite height…

Itachi frowned at himself. It seemed her chakra was having a profound effect on him. He didn't enjoy the feeling of being vulnerable, especially when one of the greatest kinoichi to come out of the Hidden Leaf was his personal doctor.

He smirked. Itachi recalled a moment Deidara had told him of the argument between himself and the late Sasori; Deidara had commented on blowing up the pink-haired medic-nin and their very own puppet-master was thoroughly pissed off and made a remark on how Sakura _'belonged'_ to him. Perhaps his downfall was caused by his infatuation with her. Itachi never had gotten the chance to see her fight to her full extent, but he did know that her small feminine hands had reduced their cave to nothing but rubble.

A soft groan pulled Itachi out of his thoughts as he looked at his doctor on the floor. Tears were leaking out of her closed eyes and slipping into her pink locks.

Sighing, Itachi pulled the covers off himself and swung his legs over the side. His bare feet met with the cool surface of the hard floor and he took a deep breath before pushing himself off of the bed. Itachi's legs quivered slightly, but he kept his composure as he slowly made his way over to the fallen kinoichi. He sat beside her, the muscles in his legs twitching as they relaxed while he studied her more closely.

Her rosette locks were always the first thing he noticed, though with his failing vision, he couldn't see the true brilliance and detail of the unique color. Itachi noted how her brow was creased together; either her thoughts were troubled, which they most likely were, or she did this out of habit.

Itachi watched as she squirmed a bit and something small and orange fell out of her kunai pouch. As her pulled it up, she began mumbling to herself, it sounded as if she said something along the lines of "Arrogant Uchihas".

Again, he smirked at her and returned his attention to the book. He recognized it as one of the books Kisame always read; filthy, filthy books. It was intriguing as to why this female medic-nin had one in her possession. She certainly didn't seem like a pervert, but then again she hadn't been here for more than a day.

Itachi heard a small gasp at the doorway and looked up to see a small, mousy servant –wearing a simple white kimono and pale blue obi—covering her face as a blush spread across her face and neck.

"Is s-she o-o-ok?" The girl stuttered.

"She collapsed from exhaustion," Itachi's tone remained indifferent as he stood and made his way to the bed. "You should get help and take her to a bed."

The servant bowed and left to find someone to help her carry the midic-nin's unconscious form to a vacant room. Meanwhile, Itachi settled back under the covers and opened the small book in his hands.

* * *

Sakura moaned as she rolled and kicked the covers off of her. Her head throbbed painfully and she could feel a knot forming between her shoulder blades as she stretched and squirmed to untangle her legs.

Resting her feet on the cold floor, trying to remember how she had gotten in this room. She remembered examining Itachi, and then everything went black…

Sakura chewed on her bottom lip as she looked around the room. Her bed was large and had tall bamboo posts that connected all the way around; long heavy silk curtains of green and black hid the bed when closed. The floor was made of marble and veined with jade and gold, the table beside the bed was made of same marble, and on top of that was a gold lamp and her hair sticks.

She ran a hand through her long hair as she crossed the large room. By the picture window, there was a comfortable black chair and a bookcase crammed with rather thick books that seemed old…Sakura couldn't wait to dig her nose into them. Sakura looked straight ahead, to the bathroom, and was stunned by what she saw; along the wall was a tall and wide shower with a glass walls, a black toilet near the window, an unusually shaped marble sink between the toilet and the best damn part about the bathroom: a rather large Jacuzzi placed under another window.

Squealing with glee, Sakura hopped to the Jacuzzi and ran her hands over the smooth marble surface. There were dials on the side with pictures showing they affected how the jets worked and another one with a light bulb beside it. The inside had several holes, she assumed to be the jets, and seats for two placed across each other.

Not wasting any time, Sakura turned on the faucet and watched as steaming hot water pooled into the tub. She quickly stood, stripped herself naked, and walked to the cupboard that looked as if it would hold the towels and upon opening it, she saw a collection of exotic massaging oils, soaps, and black towels. Blushing slightly, Sakura grabbed two towels and the jasmine scented shampoo and conditioner before closing the cupboard.

Sakura fiddled with the knobs before slipping in. A sigh of pleasure escaped her lips as she sank to her neck in the warm water. She giggled when the jets turned on and massaged her sore body. After soaking a bit, Sakura grabbed the shampoo, put some of the light pink substance in her hand, and worked it through her hair. While the soap cleansed her hair, Sakura messed around with the dial that controlled the lights; changing them from blue, to green, to red, then white, and back to blue. There was even an option to have it cycle through all of the options.

Sighing, Sakura went over to the faucet and rinsed her hair clean of the soap. Unconsciously, she shut off the faucet, grabbed the conditioner, and massaged it into her hair. Sakura found a tan lufa beside the Jacuzzi and sat on the edge of the tub while washing her body with the sudsy water.

Sakura entranced herself while cleaning herself, numbing her mind so it wouldn't venture too far.

Once she finished, she slipped back into the cooling water, crossing to the faucet, and turned it on. While she rinsed her hair, Sakura allowed the water to drain and cleansed her body of any remaining soapsuds.

She stood on shaky legs and grabbed a towel. Sakura quickly dried off with a towel before wrapping the other one around her torso and walked back into the room.

Sakura looked out the window and saw the dark sky begin to light. She narrowed her eyes slightly, remembering why the shinobi lifestyle never offered luxuries, like Jacuzzis, it just simply ate up too much time. As she turned, she noticed the tray of food on the table beside the bookshelf.

Anger and irritation surfaced as she realized she had broken the number one ninja rule: _never_ let your guard down.

Mentally chastising herself, Sakura walked over to her pack and dug through it. She pulled out another black mini dress with slits on either side and a circle on the chest, to look like her family crest, which was filled in with black mesh, a pair of tanga panties and a matching bra, and a mesh shorts. She dressed quickly, adjusting the open circle on her chest so it wouldn't show off too much cleavage before wrapping her right thigh in bandages and strapped on her medic pouch. Sakura hurriedly ran a brush through her hair while she shoved toast into her mouth and twisted her long rosette locks with her hair sticks.

Sighing heavily, Sakura decided to apply a thin line of eyeliner around her eyes and swiped her eyelashes with mascara before slipping into her boots, grabbing her medic log, and bolting out the door.

After wandering the halls aimlessly before asking one of the workers for directions, Sakura stood just outside of Itachi's room. She took a deep breath before knocking on the door.

"Come in," she heard him reply, almost mechanically.

Sakura opened the door and stopped short when she saw Itachi propped up with one hand behind his head and the other holding a small orange book in front of his highly amused face. Heat rushed to her face as he flipped the page and smirked.

"How is it," his tone was mocking her with its nonchalant purr and smooth allure, "that a medic-nin, apprentice to the Godaime Hokage, has an obsession for a porno book that is loosely based off of the Lady Tsunade herself?"

Fuming, Sakura crossed the room and ripped the book out of his hands. She ignored him as she set down her things and began checking his vitals. Sakura noted how his stomach would take a while to heal even with a chakra boost and alarmingly noticed how weak both of his kidneys and liver were.

"Dear Kami." Sakura gasped. _How the hell did I miss this!?_

"Find something interesting?" Itachi's voice dripped with venom.

Sakura glared at him, but said nothing as she set to work repairing his system. She occasionally stopped to replenish her chakra with a soldier pill, take notes on his condition and progress, or force medicine and food down Itachi's throat. After several hours, Sakura sat back in her chair and wiped the sweat from her brow as she watched Itachi's sleeping form; the rise and fall of his chest less labored than early and his breathing deep and even bringing a smile of triumph to her face.

Sakura stood up and stretched her sore muscles. A yawn escaped her as she began picking up her medical log and medical kit. She looked over her patient with a sigh before pulling on the blankets to completely cover him and brushed a few strands from his undisturbed face.

Dragging her feet, Sakura trudged down the hall towards her room to write a very vague report before collapsing into a deep sleep.

* * *

_A/N:_

_Ok, so how was that? Not my best work, I admit, but I was half drunk when I did this. I would love to see Itachi reading Icha Icha ;p_

_I wanted to make an announcement about how thrilled and touched I am for all of your reviews. You are all so kind and encouraging, and it reminds me as to why I am writing this story to begin with: You. _

_So, here is the thing: For every hundredth review I get, I will message the winning person (unless it is anonymous) and I will write a One Shot of their choosing Naruto couple and scenario. =D_

_Thank you for reading,_

_With love and gratitude,_

_Ell  
_


	6. Chapter 6

_My deepest apologizes for this being late, but I had rewritten this a dozen times...and I am still not satisfied. Please tell me what you think!_

* * *

Cherry Blossoms:

A Shadow in the Mind

Chapter Six: Realization

Tsunade groaned loudly as Shizune piled another stack of papers on her desk. To make matters worse, her assistant had decided to raid the office and hide all of her sake…why did she agree to this again?

Things had gotten a little quiet in the village. A feeling of melancholy seemed to have washed over the shinobi community, or at least, the ninja who were close to Sakura. It had been a little more than six months since her mission, and her letters kept becoming vaguer…and she never once mentioned her patient's name. To make things worse, she had begun to send her reports once every two weeks, saying she needed to focus on her patient more.

"Oh," Shizune gasped. "A letter from Sakura."

Tsunade snatched the scroll from her and narrowed her eyes slightly.

_Lady Tsunade,_

_My patient's condition has stabilized. However, if I do not dump almost all of my chakra into his system twice a day, the virus attacks his internal organs at an alarming rate. I've located the heart of the virus, it seems to be rooted in not only his blood, but his bones as well. I have take samples of both and am currently working on a formula to completely cure him. However, I have hit a bit of a snag, I won't go into detail, but attached is a list of items I will be needing to finish the rest of the cure._

_ Thank you,_

_ Sakura_

Tsunade growled low as she reread the letter. It was times like these that she needed her sake more than ever!

"Shizune," she bellowed.

"Y-yes?" Shizune shrank away.

"Get me Hyūga Neji, Nara Shikamaru, and Inuzuka Kiba," she ground out. "NOW!"

"Y-yes, milady." Shizune stammered as she ran out of the office.

_What is Sakura hiding?_ Tsunade asked herself as she leaned back in her chair and stared out the window and into the deep blue sky.

* * *

"Your move," Sakura laughed as she sat back and took in Itachi's appearance.

He was leaning against the headboard of his bed and had the blanket pulled up to his waist, exposing the gauze wrapping his torso. His face was stoic, as usual, but held the glint of amusement in his onyx eyes that was usually present when they played Shogi. His hair had gotten longer and now brushed his shoulders, a strand or two would hang in front of his face as his brow furrowed in concentration.

They had to move into the room across from Sakura's because he had destroyed the bed in a feverous fit, so she was not only closer to him, but also because it was the only other room big enough to hold all of the medical supplies needed for his treatments. The room was similar to her own, except the bathroom was smaller and there were more windows.

For the past several weeks, Itachi had been confined to his room, unable to even walk do the drastic decrease of muscle tissue. So, to make things more comfortable for him, Sakura had bought him many books to occupy his mind, mostly so she could get him to stop reading her _Icha Icha_ collection, and the Shogi board that they were currently using.

He moved a piece that Sakura had already predicted he would move, and in the only spot that was left open for him. He had stepped directly into her trap. Mindlessly, Sakura moved her next piece into place before sitting back and admiring the mixture of irritation and concentration etched into every line of his handsome face…

Sakura shook her head to clear _those_ thoughts from her mind. She focused her mind on the only piece Itachi could move; trying desperately to ignore how her thoughts continuously returned back to the way the sunlight dances across his face, forcing him to squint his eyes…

He made his move, leaving the pinkette with the finishing blow. Sakura moved her favorite piece to the opposite side of the board and took out his king.

Smiling, she looked up to a clearly surprised Uchiha, "it only took me six months, but I finally beat you."

"That was a risky move," he pointed at her own dwindling pieces. "You sacrificed quite a bit."

She shifted and looked out the window at the growing clouds, her voice soft as she replied. " Sometimes, sacrifice is necessary to achieve peace."

Itachi said nothing as he watched her with an intense gaze.

"It's a fate we shinobi must accept," Sakura took in a shaky breath and closed her eyes. "We are merely pawns in this game…"  
At that moment, there was a loud knock on the door and without a response; it swung open to reveal a very irate tower of a man. He wore a pair of baggy black pants and a long sleeved mesh shirt, all of which was under a bulky brown jacket. His skin was pale, unusually pale, and under his silver eyes were markings that resembled gills.

"Kisame," Itachi's voice was stern, as if he were punishing a child, "don't break down the door."

Sakura looked over the former shinobi; she had never actually seen him with his henge up and she was beginning to believe that he was _less_ intimidating with blue skin.

"Hey princess, I'm not a piece of meat," Kisame laughed heartily. "Even if I am pretty damn sexy."

Sakura scuffed. "I was just thinking you look better in blue. You may actually be scarier in your henge."

"No need to boost his ego," Itachi spoke roughly.

"Oh, right," Sakura rolled her eyes. "Wouldn't want both of your enormous egos to clash."

"You're one to talk," Itachi mumbled, but Sakura still heard him.

The pinkette's jaw dropped, her mind unable to register that _the_ Uchiha Itachi had just teased her.

Moments passed before she realized she was being poked in the face by a blue scaly finger.

"Oi, I think you broke her," Kisame chuckled.

Sakura growled. "Touch me again and you won't have any fingers left, fish breath."

"Ow," he pulled back with mock hurt all over his face, "and here I thought I was doing something nice by picking up this package for you…"

Sakura bolted up to her feet with sheer delight radiating off of her as she bounced over to the towering shark-man. "Gimme, gimme, gimme."

Kisame laughed as he pulled out the large package from under his coat and handed it to the small kunoichi before him. The moment it was in her clutches, she skipped out the door and out of sight, her happy singing echoing off the walls.

* * *

He felt like a fool. Whenever she was within eyesight, however darkened it was, the beating of his heart grew unbearable. When her voice, her laughter, and Kami help him, her sighs reached his ears, it made his breath hitch and blood race. It made him feel vulnerable and weak, feelings he wanted to end…but at the same time, he craved it.

Kisame chuckled loudly, bringing the Uchiha out of his thoughts.

"Something must be very interesting about those doors," the old shark mused, "for you to be gazing at them so intently."

"Hn." Itachi replied, his eyes never leaving the doors.

"You know, Itachi," his grin growing, "if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were falling for the kunoichi."

At that comment, Itachi sent his old friend his signature death glare.

"But it's a good thing I know better," he added quietly. "I wonder, if she will stay…"

Itachi felt his right eye twitch and his voice came out rough, his tone _almost_ desperate. "What are you going on about?"

Kisame shrugged. "Her mission is to heal you, right? When she finishes this, do you think she would go back to Konoha, or would she stay here?"

"I have not given her a reason to stay," it took all of his self-control to stop from grimacing as he spoke.

There was a brief moment of silence, before Kisame rose from his seat and stretched. "There is still time. You can still tell her."

"Why do you care?" Itachi knew he was being harsher than need be, but when it came to Sakura, all logic was blown out the window.

"Well, either you tell her and convince her to stay, or don't tell her and she goes home and marries your foolish younger brother." Kisame spoke as he looked out the window, aware of how tense his friend had gotten at his words. "Besides, she is fun to rile up."

Itachi stared at his hands. Perhaps she truly was involved with Sasuke; if not him, then someone must have had a claim on the young woman's heart. Perhaps he was being selfish by keeping her here, but he noticed how bitter she was when she arrived; how cold and hard those emerald eyes were. However, he was not blind to how her time here, with him, brought back the fire in her eyes and placed a brilliant smile on her face.

Raking a hand through his hair, Itachi was unsure if he could allow her to return…

"There are Leaf shinobi watching the mansion," Kisame spoke in a rough voice, suddenly serious. "I recognize one of them as a Hyūga from back in the good old days."

"We'll have to be more careful, then." Itachi muttered.

Kisame suddenly let out a rather loud howl of laughter, "perhaps the princess wouldn't mind becoming a missing-nin. After all, her friends are watching her, they'll be sure to see _something_."

Itachi stared at his friend, dread freezing him. If that were to happen, Sakura would surely hate him. He had a lot to consider…

* * *

Sakura let out a sigh. It was finished. After six grueling hours of trial and error, the antidote was finally finished!

She sat down in her chair, adding the last details to her notes. Sakura came to the decision that she would start his session the moment she was sure she had all of her chakra replenished; she made quite a bit of the concoction, in case she ran out because she wasn't completely sure about how long it was going to take to rebuild his cells.

Sakura looked out the window on the door; it had been an hour since she had sent Kouki to the hospital with a list of items she would need for the procedure. She supposed it would take him longer to bring them back, since he did not posses her inhuman strength.

Taking this time, Sakura pulled out her medical bag to ensure she had enough supplies to get through the procedure. She took out a small case and opened it; inside were seven small soldier pills, a few chakra boosters, and several headache pills. Sakura set the case aside and pulled out a roll of gauze and a small jar of salve.

There was a loud commotion on the other side of the door before it swung open, revealing a very distraught Kouki. His blond hair was askew and his light green eyes sparked with his irritation. In his arms was a rather large box, the item of his problems.

"Ah, Kouki-kun," Sakura breathed as she quickly stuffed her items back into her pouch, strapped it on her leg, and ran to his aid. "Thank you so much for helping me."

Kouki, who had turned a brilliant shade of red when she had spoken his name, dropped his arms to his sides when she had effortlessly taken the box from him.

"Ah, oh!" Sakura exclaimed, causing Kouki to jump, "Kouki-kun, can you grab my notes, that jar there, and the case of syringes and needles. Ah yes, those, thank you!"

"Not a problem, Sakura-sama." Kouki grabbed the items and followed her out of the green house, his blush still present.

"Kouki-kun," Sakura spoke while she smiled sweetly, "how many times do I have to tell you, don't be so formal."

His blush deepened. "Of course, Sakura-sa…chan."

She smiled again, satisfied. Though, it soon turned into a frown when she felt a spark of familiar chakra and the feeling she was being watched. Sakura looked at the trees out of the corner of her eye, and caught a quick flash of white. Biting her lip, Sakura flashed her chakra dangerously to the intruder to signal that she was aware of their presence, and to keep their distance from the house.

"Is something wrong, Sakura-chan?" Kouki mumbled in a worried tone.

"Hm? Oh, no." She forced a smile to her lips. "Everything is just fine."

The two continued their walk to Itachi's room in silence. Sakura on her guard the whole time. When they reached the room, Sakura wasted no time at all setting up the IV stand and stabbing the needle into Itachi's veins. Both of the former ninja in the room picked up on Sakura's dangerous flow of chakra, and both were unwilling to say anything to her.

"All right then," She piped up, causing all of the men in the room to jump at her sudden joyous tone. "Itachi-kun, I will have to put you under for this. I believe I will be using a jutsu for it, since I do not want the chemicals to react in your system. I am not entirely sure how long this will take, so Kisame-kun, I will need you to keep watch…"

They both understood what that meant, since they were all aware of the situation outside of the house. Sakura watched as Kisame took a kunai from his pocket and released the sealing jutsu on it, revealing his giant wrapped sword. She seemed completely unaware of the unbelieving look Itachi was giving her back at the sudden usage of the suffix 'kun'.

Sakura tied her hair back out of her face and rolled up the sleeves of her jacket as she position herself over Itachi.

"Are you ready, Itachi-kun?" She asked in a soft tone, catching him off-guard, but he nodded. "All right. See you when you wake up."

After that, Sakura placed a sleeping jutsu on Itachi and waited to confirm he was under it entirely before grabbing the small jar of the antidote filling up the syringe. Carefully, she injected it into his system and instantly began guiding it with her chakra to the main areas of infection. She ground her teeth together as she melded her chakra with his own and pushed the antidote into the marrow of his bones.

* * *

Neji stared at the sky, waiting for Kiba's return. The loud breathing of Akamaru announced their return, causing the Hyūga to furrow his brow with irritation.

"Report," he spoke with his commanding tone, making Kiba growl.

"She…spotted us." He scratched the back of his head.

"She what!?" Neji ground out. "You are supposed to be a ninja. How did she see you?"

"Well…" Kiba began, but was cut off by Shikamaru.

"You realize, Neji, we are dealing with Sakura Haruno." Shikamaru yawned before continuing. "She could probably feel his chakra before she spotted him, even if he was concealing his chakra. In fact, she could probably feel _all_ of our chakras if she tried hard enough."

An uncomfortable silence fell between the three for a moment. All that could be heard was the chirping of birds and rustling of the leaves as the breeze blew by.

"Well," Kiba decided to break the silence, "one thing is for certain, two of the guys in that room were definitely shinobi."

"Did you recognize any of them?" Shikamaru questioned as he stuck a cigarette in his mouth and lit it.

Kiba shook his head.

"I do." Neji spoke barely above a whisper. "It has been awhile, but I recognize the one we felt earlier as the one resembling a shark. I fought him when we rescued the Kazekage."

"Which means…"Kiba mumbled.

"We cannot jump to conclusions," Neji stood from his spot. "I'll take the next watch. Let's hope we are wrong on this."

With that, Neji jumped off to the direction of the mansion, leaving the other two to their boredom. Kiba took a spot beside Akamaru and rubbed his chin.

"I don't understand what got his panties in a bunch." Kiba whined as he stretched his legs.

"Tenten-chan broke up with him." Shikamaru replied.

"Again?" Kiba sounded unbelieving as Shikamaru nodded. "I wonder what for this time."

Shikamaru shrugged.

Kiba thought back on their trip here. Neji seemed agitated about getting here immediately. He also seemed a little overly worried about Sakura at the moment, which would explain why he had defended her so quickly against Kiba's accusation.

Kiba sat up straight, causing Shikamaru to groan with annoyance."You don't think Neji-sama has a thing for Sakura-chan, do you?"

Shikamaru only groaned louder. "Troublesome."

* * *

It had been several hours since Sakura had started the session, and she was getting exhausted. Beads of sweat were dripping down her face as she quickly popped a chakra booster into her mouth and resumed battling out the last of the illness.

"Come on." She ground out as she reached the very heart of the virus. "Almost…"

Her chakra and the antidote slowly ate away at it. Time seemed to stop as she finally rid his body completely of the illness, causing Sakura to squeal in victory right before checking his body one last time. Satisfied, she stood up unsteadily and turned to Kisame, who had a large grin placed on his face.

Sakura held up one thumb and laughed happily, before falling unconscious. Before she could hit the ground, Kisame caught her in his arms. Absently, he walked around the bed, pulled the covers back, and set her next to Itachi.

"Now to wait and watch the fireworks." He chuckled as he woke up the servant, Kouki, and sent him to get some sake.

* * *

_Was it good? At all? _

_Ok, so regarding the rules for the 100th Review:_

_I will do a ONE SHOT of any Naruto pairing (except NaruSaku, ItaSasu, NejiHina, or any other incest [I consider Naruto and Sakura as brother and sister because that is what they are in my eyes...really sorry])._

_I will send a message to the winner, if they are registered, and I will ask them the situation. _

_Enjoy!_

_~Ell  
_


	7. Chapter 7

**_Cherry Blossoms:_**

**_A Shadow in the Mind_**

**_Chapter Seven: Unexpected, but not Unwanted_**

Sakura stirred in her sleep. Her entire body was sore from the surgery and her hands were tender from the over-chakra use. There was an intense heat pressed tightly against her back, making her snuggle closer. A soft smile spread across her face as she thought it would be better if she warmed her front, so she careful spun around and dug her face into a warm, soft chest…wait, what?

Slowly, she opened her eyes and verified that she was indeed wrapping herself around a bare chest; she only hoped it wasn't who she thought it was. Time seemed to stop as Sakura raised her eyes and was immediately met with a pair of crimson eyes.

The two stared at each other briefly, then, in a flash they were holding kunai to each other's throats. Somewhere in the room, they heard the roar of drunken laughter and without looking, they both tossed the kunai at the source of the sound.

"Oi! Watch it! That almost hit me!" They heard Kisame slur.

Sakura swiftly bolted out of the bed and smoothed out her clothes before tying her hair back. She was too embarrassed to face Itachi right now, her bright red face proved that, but she knew she had to check her _patient_. Sighing, she turned on her heel and walked around the bed. She refused to look Itachi in the face, so she pressed her hands to his chest and forced chakra to her palms, causing an involuntary wince from the pain.

An eerie silence fell in the room as Sakura searched Itachi's body for any trace of the virus. A slight smile graced her face as she found absolutely no trace of it; now the hardest part, helping Itachi get back to the physical level he had once been in.

"Good news," Sakura backed up and grabbed her notes. She began writing down everything she encountered during the surgery and everything afterwards. "You are completely rid of the illness. However, you must go through some intense training to regain _all_ of the muscle mass you lost while you were sick. Now, I'm going to the hospital to pick up some equipment that may help…first, I need a shower."

With that, Sakura walked out of the room and into the next. She closed the door and immediately made a bee-line for her dresser. She pulled out her usual mini dress and some undergarments before walking straight to the shower and turning it on. As she undressed, she thought of the chakra she had felt the day before; it felt like Kiba's chakra, but he would only come here if he was on a mission…

Sakura cursed loudly as she realized what _may_ have happened. Tsunade must have gotten worried about her, so she had sent a team to investigate the mission she was placed on. She only hoped Neji or Sasuke weren't on the mission.

She hissed as the hot water singed her sensitive skin. Sakura leaned against the shower wall as she thought of a way to hide herself from any Leaf shinobi in the village, but to no anvil. Everyone in the village knew her by now, and there were probably rumors Itachi and Kisame.

"This can only end badly," she said to herself as she grabbed her shampoo and massaged it into her hair.

After her shower, Sakura dressed and armed herself accordingly before taking a glance in the mirror and deadpanning; it looked as if she had just died! Not even a kunoichi could sanctify this! Her pink hair was all askew and framed her terrifyingly pale skin and her emerald eyes were darker with irritation and were bloodshot. Dear Kami, the bags under her eyes even had bags!

Whimpering slightly, Sakura battled her hair with her brush until she gave up and tied it back into a messy bun. Sighing, she put on a little make up, _hoping_ to bring out a little beauty…but only ended up looking defeated. Sakura scuffed at her depressing look and trudged out of her room, down the hall, and out of the mansion, cursing that damned Uchiha the entire way.

* * *

Neji followed Sakura's movements from a safe distance. He had finally recovered from accidently peeking at her in the shower and had taken the liberty of hiding under a henge so that he could follow her every move.

He could feel how dangerously low her chakra levels were, but he could still tell she was radiating anger. Neji had only caught a glimpse of what had happened between her and the two missing-nin…and he was disappointed, _that_ being an understatement, with how _friendly_ they seemed to be. However, he was holding out hope that maybe, _just maybe_, he could justify her interaction with them.

Neji furrowed his brow once again, why the _hell_ should he care about this particular kunoichi to begin with? The only time they ever interacted was during missions. He rubbed his head as he remembered that _she_ had performed his surgery when he had gotten back from a mission. That's when everything started…

He couldn't explain why he felt so drawn to the pink haired kunoichi, or why he felt the need to be near her all the time. The jealousy he felt whenever Hatake spoke to her was irrational and usually plummeted him into an even worse mood; unfortunately, Tenten had caught on to this and left him.

Neji growled at himself. He had promised himself to not think of Sakura anymore and yet here he was, following her like a lost puppy!

"Oi," a voice called rudely, snapping Neji out of his thoughts.

Before him stood the very person he had not meant to get close enough to.

"I know what you're doing," Sakura spat, apparently in an even more foul mood than he thought. "So, either stop following me, or I'll show you what a _real_ kunoichi can do. Got it, pal?"

Neji looked at her dumbly before stepping to the side to allow her to pass. She looked so exhausted, and maybe she was worse than she looked…she had no idea who he was…

In order to figure out what was _really_ going on in that house, they would have to go in undercover. Without further thought, Neji made his way back to the hotel.

* * *

Itachi glared at Kisame. It was already in the afternoon and Sakura hadn't returned yet and Kisame kept throwing out quips about how the Leaf shinobi had captured her and forced her to go back with them.

Finally having enough, Itachi pushed the covers off his body and swung his legs over so that his feet were resting on the cold floor. With a great heave, he pushed himself to his feet and was surprised at how strong they seemed. Finding his chakra, Itachi pushed it throughout his body, finding that Sakura's chakra had wormed its way into his own, giving him her natural healing ability.

He smirked. She truly is a remarkable woman…

A gasp was heard at the entrance of his room, catching his attention, though he did not need to look up to ensure that a servant girl had walked in on him to serve him dinner.

"Itachi-san," her voice was meek and quiet, "I do not think Sakura-san would approve…"

He turned his head and gazed at the mousy servant before him. Not surprisingly, it was the same servant who was usually found outside his door. Itachi narrowed his eyes slightly, causing the girl to yelp and blush as she exited the room, muttering apologies.

"That was harsh," Kisame murmured.

Itachi said nothing as he made his way over to the dresser, his legs straining under his weight. Carefully, he pulled out his casual dark blue yukata and a mesh shirt before dressing in silence. He ignored the protests of his body as he made his way to the door, only stopping to look over his shoulder.

"Are you coming?" He asked Kisame in a dangerous tone.

He watched as Kisame wordlessly sealed his sword back into a kunai form and placed his henge before standing to his full height and following him out of the room and out of the mansion.

The two walked down the streets; the civilians gawked at them. The women seemed to swoon at the sight of them, the men glared as they held their wives and daughters, and the elderly congratulated Itachi on his recovery.

"It's been so long, I forgot how much the people loved you," Kisame chuckled.

Itachi remained silent, his mind focused on finding the pink haired nescience that plagued his thoughts.

As they neared the hospital, they passed a small tavern and heard an argument from inside. Itachi's unease grew as he felt Sakura's chakra spike and the shattering of glass.

Both of the former ninja were in the tavern in the blink of an eye and the sight before them caused Itachi's face to reflect his shock and for once, Kisame had nothing to say; he merely sat there with his mouth opening and closing, like a fish. Before them was a disaster; unconscious men were sprawled on floor, a few were on tables, and the smell of blood and liquor tainted the air. By the bar were three people still awake; the bartender was cowering in the corner with pitiful tears streaming down his fat face and a man dressed in a black cloak held a large kunai to the throat of a highly amused and obviously drunk Sakura.

The two watched as Sakura punched him in the chest, sending him flying through the tavern wall and into the street. Sakura scuffed and picked up another cup of sake and drained it in one gulp.

Itachi's breath hitched in his throat when the pinkette turned her attention to her patient. She looked exhausted, beyond that even! And yet, despite the paleness of her skin or the blood trickling from her mouth, Itachi found her absolutely…enchanting. He gazed at her with more intensity that he had intended, causing Kisame to grin like a mad man, but he couldn't help it…her eyes, they held so much fire and determination and her lips, _oh good sweet Kami_! Her lips were a soft rose color and they trembled just slightly…

"Itachi-shan…" Sakura slurred as she leaned against the bar for support. "Why areyou looking at me like zat?"

Itachi tried desperately to form a sentence in his mind, but all he could think about was tasting her tempting lips…

"You forgot to wear your mask," Kisame laughed as he clapped Itachi on the back.

Itachi snapped out of his revere just as Sakura gasped and tried to cover her face with her hands, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

* * *

"Wait," Kiba scratched his head in confusion, "you want me and Shikamaru to go back to Konoha? While you stay here and _go undercover_?"

Neji's eye twitched with irritation. _It's like trying to talk to a wall_.

"One of us must stay behind and make sure she will be fine." He half growled.

"But why _you_?" Kiba narrowed his eyes. "I'm just as concerned about her safety."

At this point, the two were neck-to-neck, lightning flaring between them. Shikamaru groaned, loudly, and lit another cigarette.

"I was made captain of this squad," Neji pinched the bridge of his nose. "You will do as I say and go back to Konoha. Besides, I may be the only one who stands a chance against the Uchiha."

"Why you…" Kiba ground out and balled up his fist.

"Enough," Shikamaru sighed. "He is right. Itachi is a genjutsu type, and Neji-san isn't vulnerable to genjutsus."

Kiba sat back, gritting his teeth in defeat.

"So we leave in the morning?" Shikamaru continued, still staring out the window.

Neji nodded. "And tell her what we have learned."

"What a drag…" Shikamaru moaned.

* * *

Sakura grumbled under her breath as she once again checked over her report before sending it out. She knew she was just dragging her feet before having to meet up with Itachi…_again_. Ever since he had seen her with her mask off, which was _weeks_ ago, he refused to let her out of his sight. It wasn't as if she was trying to run away from him or anything…

She heaved a heavy sigh as someone knocked on her door.

"If that is you, Itachi-_kun _, I am _so_ going chew up that Uchiha pride of yours and spit it back out!" She growled as she stood up and wrenched the door open, only to reveal the newest member of the servant staff. "Oh, I'm sorry, Kiske-kun."

Kiske coughed slightly as he lowered his head, making his long brown hair to hood his face. Sakura could only guess that he was blushing, she _apparently_ was good at making men blush, Itachi was a great example of that. Kiske lifted his head, revealing his pale blue eyes.

"My deepest apologies, Haruno-san," he kept his voice low, as usual, after getting a _talking_ to by once again, that irritating fool of a patient. "Lord Takagashi has requested your presence."

Sakura's face softened as she smiled up at Kiske. Ever since he started working at the mansion, she felt a little bit of the weight on her shoulders lift. There was just this air of calmness around him that reminded her so much of Neji and the way they used to just talk while sitting in Konoha's gardens.

"Thank you, Kiske-kun." She replied again, before following him down the hall and into a separate wing of the mansion.

It had been so long since Sakura had even seen the old man; she had begun to think that he was just a figment of her imagination. As she reached his room, the definite smell of sickness clung to the air, causing Sakura to panic and burst through the doors.

Sakura gasped as she stood in the door way. Before was a rather disturbing sight; Lord Takagashi was resting in his large bed, many nurses were standing by reading off of clipboards and checking vials of fluids.

In one swift movement, Sakura was at his side, startling all of the nurses. Takagashi's hair was matted to his pillow and his aging skin had taken on the color of death. The only confirmation she got that he was still alive was the sharp intake of his breathing.

"You foolish old man," Sakura heard coming from the door way.

She looked up and saw Itachi striding to her side, his health almost to what it once was, and his black yukata swaying slightly. His hair was held back in a low ponytail, but a few stray strands framed his stunning face.

"Sakura," his voice was stern, but it was still obvious to Sakura that he was worried, "can you treat him?"

She nodded and went to set to work, but a frail hand grasped her wrists.

"It is nice to see you stopped wearing your mask," his voice was just above a whisper. "I was right all along, you are stunning, Sakura-san."

She couldn't help but smile at the old man's humor, but worry still ate at her. "Please, let me heal you."

Takagashi shook his head, "no. I have lived for far too long. I have lived a fairly good life, but my greatest accomplishment, is you, Ita."

Itachi shifted beside Sakura, but said nothing.

"You may not be my own child, but you are the closest thing I have to one," he sighed. "I have made you the new lord, Ita. I just have one thing to ask of you."

He was tossed into a coughing fit, causing both Sakura and Itachi to panic. Itachi demanded for a glass of water while Sakura rubbed his back and adjusted his pillows so he could breathe easier. When he calmed down, he had a slight grin on his face as his eyes darted from Sakura to Itachi.

"Ita," he sighed, his voice getting weaker. "Tell her. You have nothing to lose."

Sakura spared a glance at Itachi, only to find his dark eyes lost in his own thoughts.

"My only regret," Takagashi began, "is not being able to see you two getting married."

Sakura's face turned bright red and she heard Itachi coughing. Takagashi laughed as he took each of their hands and placed them together.

"You two may be completely obviously to it," he began coughing again, but waved the two off as they started to rise, "but everyone else sees how much you two truly care for each other. It is quite unexpected, but I can tell you this, if you two gave it a chance, it wouldn't be unwelcome."

Sakura and Itachi refused to meet each others' gazes, both of them were far too embarrassed to even move.

"Besides," Takagashi whispered, "it would have been great seeing Ita as a father."

With those last words and a smile on his face, Lord Takagashi sighed heavily and closed his eyes. A strange silence fell upon the room as everyone was sure the old man had passed on to the other world. Tears fell down Sakura's face as she held onto Lord Takagashi's frail hand, while Itachi stood and began telling everyone to leave the room.

When everyone had left, Itachi rested his hand on Sakura's shoulder, but said nothing. Soon, Sakura gave into the wave of tears and turned into Itachi's chest. She was surprised when he wrapped his arms around her and allowed her to weep into his yukata. It was at this moment, that both Sakura and Itachi realized there was no going back to being enemies…

* * *

_I know it is fast. It probably sucks too...I will not blame you for flaming this chapter...  
_

_I'm really sorry. I wanted something epic to happen in this chapter, but I thought it would be good to finally bring out the relationship slowly blossoming between Itachi and Sakura._

_And what about jealous Neji? Don't worry about him, you'll see what his deal is later._

_I promise the next chapter will be full of lemony goodness!  
_


	8. Chapter 8

Cherry Blossoms:

A Shadow in the Mind

Chapter Eight:

Truth Be Told

_Thud! Smash!_

They were at it again. Itachi sighed, he wouldn't mind so much if they weren't so damn loud. They were just so distracting, making it near impossible for him to get anywhere with this paper work.

_BAM!_  
Itachi felt his right eye twitch as he stood and marched out of his office. Since the funeral, Kisame and Sakura spent _all day_ training, wrecking the entire court yard. Sighing, he opened the door to the outside and stood shocked at the mess that awaited him.

Kisame was badly injured and seemed to be using his sword as a shield. Across from him was a very dangerous looking Sakura. She was still in fighting stance, one fist hovering above the ground while her body was twisted and her chest heaved with fatigue.

"Hell, Kisame!" He heard her growl. "Why don't you hit me? You have endless supplies of chakra and I know how fierce you can be in battle!" She bolted at him with incredible speed and landed a punch on the shark-skin sword. "JUST ATTACK ME!"

Kisame stood, swaying slightly as he lost his footing from the uneven ground. "Just because you are angry with Itachi-kun, does not mean you can take it out on me."

Sakura huffed. "What makes you think I'm angry with _him_?"

"Well," Kisame assumed it was safe to straighten up. "Since he became the head of the house, he hasn't been able to spare you any time. By each passing day, you get angrier. I heard from the servants that you stopped eating the dinner they bring you and the light in your bedroom is always on. You are in no shape to be training like this."

There was a long silence, and then Itachi saw Sakura fall to her knees and her head hang in defeat. Kisame approached her cautiously before sitting beside her and patting her on the back.

"I just don't get it," he heard her voice again, yet now it was soft and broken. "Does he want me gone? Now that he is completely healed? I guess, I mean, there is no other purpose for me being here…"

Itachi heard a choking sound come from Kisame. "He isn't."

Sakura's head lifted, but she said nothing.

"His eyes are still bothering him," the shark-man stated, rather loudly. "Maybe you should demand to heal them…after all, you are his doctor."

Sakura laughed lightly. "You know, for an S-class criminal, you are a real softie, Kisame-kun."

"Hey now, don't go saying things you can't take back."

Sakura stood and stretched. "I think I'm going to head the bar tonight. Care to join me?"

Kisame jumped to his feet and chuckled. "I'm game."

Itachi watched as Sakura exited out of sight and heard a door slam closed. Assuming she was now out of ear shot, he came into view, causing his old friend to turn around.

"How long did you know I was standing there?" Itachi asked, staring up at the sky.

"Hm?" Kisame shrugged. "About when she fell to her knees."

A silence fell between the two. The only thing that could be heard was the chirping of birds and rustling of the leaves.

"She's right, you know," Kisame finally muttered. "If you don't see a need for her to be here, then you should let her go back. It is obvious to both of us you aren't going to tell her the truth."

Itachi merely sighed.

"How are your eyes?" Kisame asked.

Itachi shifted slightly."Better. My vision has been slowly coming back, but there is still quite a bit of chakra build up."

He dropped his head. Itachi still didn't know how to react, but it seemed that during the surgery, Sakura's chakra seemed to have taken root with his own and now everything was coming back to him. Even his vision was slowly coming back to him…and it was all thanks to one pink haired kunoichi.

"Itachi," Kisame's voice took on its' rare serious tone. "If you don't approach her soon, she _will_ go back. She may even be more hurt by your indifference than she was before…something happened between you two. The old man certainly saw it before any of us, and for it to end before anything could actually happen…it just…"

"Enough," Itachi demanded. "She deserves better. I will not hear any more of this."

With that said, Itachi stormed back towards the house, but stopped when he felt Kisame's chakra flare.

"Either you tell her," his voice was dark and menacing, "or I will. If you don't want her, Itachi, then I will have no qualms taking your place. She does deserve better, Itachi, better than either of us. But do you honestly think anyone else would see her for what she _really_ is?"

Itachi's body stiffened, but he didn't turn around. "_Don't you dare touch her_."

"Or what?" Kisame laughed. "I have put up with a lot of your crap, and yes, we are friends, but even I see her beauty. She should smile more often, not cry, Itachi."

The two now had their backs to each other, a tension filling the air that just radiated danger. Even the birds seemed to stop singing.

"If you don't see her by tomorrow evening," Kisame spoke low. "I won't hold back."

With that, Kisame left, leaving a very distraught Itachi alone in the court yard.

* * *

Sakura sat in the darkness of the bar. There weren't many people tonight crowding the bar, but they were still loud. She didn't mind though, the drunken obnoxiousness distracted her from the real reason she came here in the first place.

"Another bottle here, please." Sakura stated as she set down her bottle of sake.

The bartender smirked as he set down another bottle. It was clear to Sakura that he was undressing her with his eyes, but tonight, she just didn't care. So, she took her bottle and poured herself another glass.

"Going to save any for me?" She heard Kisame's gruff voice joke.

"I dunno," Sakura said as she felt the sake heat her face. "What do I get in return?"

Kisame openly laughed as he sat down beside her and leaned in close. "Anything you'd like, princess."

A blush crept onto Sakura's cheeks as she caught onto the underlined meaning of his words. He had definitely never gone as far as _flirting_ with her before, so why the sudden change?

"There ya go with your staring at me again," he sighed. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you want me."

Sakura laughed. "Good thing you know better."

"Bah.."

He grabbed the bottle of sake and drank straight out of the bottle, causing Sakura to gape at him.

"Ooh no you don't," she growled.

She swiped the bottle from his grasp and drank the rest of it. Completely oblivious to stare Kisame gave her.

"That could kill you," He murmured.

Sakura pointed at herself. "Medic-nin."

Kisame scuffed as he motioned for more sake. "So what's the game tonight?"

Sakura scratched her head before motioning for more bottles of sake. "Just a simple shots game should suffice."

Kisame shook his head. "You have a death wish, princess."

Sakura ignored the comment and filled her cup. "So, if I win, you stop calling me princess."

"And if I win," Kisame seemed to be thinking, tapping his finger to his chin, "you have to kiss me. And not one of those lame 'peck on the cheek' kisses. One of those steamy make-out sessions."

Sakura laughed at his awkwardness. "That's a new bid."

He shrugged as the two raised their cups to cheer before downing back the contents. And so it continued on like so; they would empty a bottle of sake and continue joking with each other. Kisame seemed completely oblivious to the fact that Sakura had been using her chakra to burn the alcohol in her system, but she had already been previously drinking and was still feeling the effects. Besides, not all of her chakra burning was getting all of the alcohol. However, both of them were completely oblivious to the pair of crimson eyes that continued to bore into their backs.

_-2 hours later-_

"Why, princessh," Kisame slurred as he eyed her suspiciously. "I do believe that I win."

Sakura, whose head was resting on the table at this point, merely grunted in response. The entire world around her wouldn't stop spinning, and if she lost her concentration on not throwing up, well, there would be a rather disgustingly large mess to clean up and she would be banned from yet another bar.

Kisame stood and picked her up, causing some inaudible curses to ramble from the pinkette. He tossed her over his shoulder and was about to leave the bar, when the bartender came rushing over to them.

"These two are on the house," he shouted happily as he handed them each a small glass of a strange pink liquid.

Kisame raised his eyebrow before gulping it down and looked over his shoulder to see that Sakura had already drank it and dropped the cup on the floor.

"Ba bababa baa," he heard Sakura mumble as the two walked out of the bar and into the chilly night air.

"Kiz-Kizzz.." Sakura whined, but couldn't seem to form the right words. "KIZA-KUN!"

"Hn?" He asked, feeling slightly lightheaded.

"I gotsta vomits!"

Not needing anymore warning, Kisame dropped her on the ground and heard a sickening retching sound. He scratched his head as he tried to figure out what exactly the bartender had given them because he was feeling a little…frisky…for some odd reason.

"Ew," Sakura groaned. "Hm. I don't 'member eating that…"

_Oh Kami, why does that turn me on!?_ Kisame thought, alarmed at the sudden hardening of his cock.

"Fiszzy-kun…" Sakura cooed as she tugged on his pants.

Kisame dared a glance at the pink-haired kunoichi, but grew rigid. She was on her knees with her dress hiked up high enough to see her black lace panties and the sleeves hung off her shoulders, framing her tempting breasts. Finally reaching her face, Kisame's breath caught in his throat, her lips were parted slightly as she wiped off the liquor from her chin and her pink hair framed her face while her emerald eyes shimmered.

_Oh..good…sweet Kami…_He thought was he just stood there, staring at her. It was never his intention to sleep with her, as he had told Itachi; he just merely wanted to motivate him to take a step farther with her. But if she continued to look like that, Kisame wasn't entirely sure he could stop himself from taking her right there, vomit or not.

"I don't know what waz in zose drinks," she rambled, "but I don't sink it's outta my syssem."

Kisame just stared at her. _So, she is feeling it too?_

She giggled. "'Ey, Kizza-kun, I'm notta piece 'o meat."

Kisame choked at that. So it was obvious, huh?

"Oi," she started talking again. "Izzat a kunai in yer pants or 'you jus' happy ta see me?"

Was she _trying_ to get him to lose control? In just a few moments, Sakura was on her back laughing, her legs spread and taunting him. Kisame slapped his face and groaned as he bent down to pick her up.

"C'mon," he got her to her feet. "We need to get you back or Itachi will _kill_ me."

"Pfft," she scuffed. "Like he cares about me…"

"Hm?" She started patting his butt, causing him to furrow his brow and yelp when she pinched him. "What the hell?"

"How'd you get blue?" She asked abruptly.

"Excuse me?" He stopped and froze at her question.

"You heard me." She sounded so…_bored_. "How didja get to be a shark?"

"It was a very _painful_ jutsu." That was all he said before continuing to the mansion.

Sakura had gone quiet, so he assumed she had passed out. The breeze whistled through the trees, bringing up a scent he hadn't expected to be following him. He shifted the pink haired kunoichi on his shoulders and confirmed that she had indeed passed out cold.

"I thought you would follow me tonight," he spoke quietly.

Emerging from the trees was a figure clad in black, his crimson eyes hard, but he said nothing.

"How long have you been following?" Kisame tried again.

"Long enough." Itachi answered evenly.

Kisame smirked. So he did care after all? "Here ya go…" With that said, he dropped the kunoichi in Itachi's arms and began walking to another bar. "Take good care of her!"

He didn't catch the unbelieving look sent his way as the wind picked up slightly and he rounded the corner. Next on his list, trying to find a woman to take care of his little _problem_.

* * *

Sakura groaned as she woke to a painful ache in her head. She attempted to open her eyes and instantly regretted it when the world spun out of control, so she squeezed her eyes shut and instead, tried desperately to figure out where she was.

_Let's see…I remember my head hitting the table and Kisame picking me up_…She scratched her head as the memory had gotten fuzzy, but she distinctly remember Kisame hitting on her. _What the hell had caused that? Oh! I remember a fizzy pink drink…throwing up…and Kisame's…oooh…_

Sakura let out another groan. "I am _so _going to _kill_ that shark!" She rolled onto her side and found she was on a rather soft bed. _Please, Kami, don't let that shark be next to me…_

Sakura brought her fist, none too softly, to the other side of the bed and found it empty. A smirk spread across her lips as she relaxed a bit; she hadn't had sex with Kisame. Now all she had to remember was how she had gotten into bed.

_Ok, on the count of three…I'm going to get out of bed and run to the toilet. Then, a shower._ She took a deep breath before mentally counting down. _One…two…three…_On that count, she bolted out of bed and ran straight into the bathroom, skidded to halt onto her knees, and began praying to the proclaim god.

Moments passed and Sakura flushed the toilet. She groaned as the taste of alcohol and stomach acid lingered in her mouth and she pushed herself to her feet. She pulled herself to the sink, daring not to look in the mirror, and grabbed her tooth brush. Quietly, Sakura brushed the taste out of her mouth, so that all that remained was the fresh mint and undressed slowly so as not to find herself hugging the toilet again. In minutes, Sakura was relaxing in the shower as warm water beat her flesh and eased her tense muscles.

She replayed the last few days' events her head and tracked when Itachi refused to let her see him, though he had banned Kiske from this wing…no doubt trying to be overprotective. Still, what bothered her most was that when she stayed up late at night, mostly reading and going over her medical notes, she could feel Itachi's chakra outside of her door. Sometimes, she wished he would just open that damn door! However, other times she was scared as to what might happen if he did…

Sakura banished those thoughts from her mind as she grabbed the soap and cleansed the sweat, dirt, and musky smells she had gathered from her lapse in judgment. She had scrubbed her skin raw, breaking it in some places, before turning off the water and drying off. When she had stepped out, she had realized that in her rush, she hadn't grabbed any clean clothes…

She shrugged. _It's not like anyone is in my room…_

So, Sakura wrapped the towel loosely around her body, though it barely brushed her bottom, and walked into her room. She went straight for her dresser, but froze when a movement in the corner of her caught her attention. Slowly, Sakura turned to the bookcase and saw the last person she expected to see in her room, sitting in the chair with a file in his hands and a look of utter shock on his handsome face.

"I…tachi…" She muttered as her brain shut down and all she could do was blush furiously.

Itachi's eyes never left Sakura; in fact, his gaze seemed heated and intense as he looked at her. He set down the file and swiftly made his way over to her and stopped as he was merely inches from her. She could feel his warm breath on her skin and bit her lip as she brought her gaze to meet his, only to be shocked by the amount of passion within their depths.

He picked up a lock of her hair and inspected it closely, as if admiring it and his fingers lightly danced across her skin. His other hand caressed her cheek and traced her jaw with his thumb.

"You're so beautiful," he murmured as he smoothed her bottom lip with the pad of this thumb, his eyes never leaving hers.

Sakura just stared into his eyes. At this point, every sense was unresponsive except for her touch and even then her skin felt as if it was on fire. Every stroke of Itachi's fingers sent waves heat into her stomach and lower; she wanted nothing more than to close the distance between them, but her body refused to move.

As if reading her mind, Itachi slowly came closer to her, until his lips lightly brushed her own. Sakura instinctively moved in and deepened the kiss; their breaths mixed as their lips moved against each other, both fighting for dominance. One of Itachi's hands slid down Sakura's backside and pulled her in closer while the other cradled the back of her head. Sakura moaned as he bit down on her bottom lip thrust his tongue into her mouth. She mentally noted how he tasted like nectarines as his tongue wrestled with her own.

At some point during their heated exchange, Sakura's towel had slipped off of her and was now pooled at her feet, granting Itachi full access to her now exposed body. He slipped both of his hands under her bottom and lifted her up, so she had to lock her legs around his waist as he brought them both over to the bed.

Itachi carefully placed Sakura on her back and he settled himself between her legs while he kissed her neck softly and his hands teased her nipples. So many sensations overwhelmed Sakura at this point, she found herself gripping Itachi's shoulders and arching her back as his mouth claimed one of her nipples. A gasp of pleasure escaped her mouth and she unintentionally ground her hips against his, suddenly feeling the need for him to take of his clothes.

"Clothes…off…now…" She managed to say between ragged breathes.

Itachi smirked against her breast, but complied. He got to his feet, his gaze never leaving Sakura's as he quickly shed the layers of his yukata, revealing a magnificent body. Sakura felt the heat rise to her face as her eyes roamed over his body, taking in every perfection and flaw. He had many scars on his body, but she didn't mind, and she was completely awed by how fast he had regained his muscle mass.

Sakura allowed her gaze to fall lower to the nest of dark hair and unconsciously licked her lips. He was far bigger than she had expected and apparently just has excited as she was; that thought brought a smile to her face. Sakura looked up, and motioned for him to come back to bed.

She parted her legs so that he could nestle himself comfortably while he assaulted her mouth with hungry kisses. Sakura's lips tingled from his passion as he moved his lips down her neck and over her nipples, teasing them gently with his teeth. She gasped as pleasure waved over her when his fingers softly caressed her womanhood and she moaned when he began rubbing her, moving his fingers in a circular formation. Her hips rose and fell to the rhythm of his movements as he rubbed harder, causing her to dig her finger nails into Itachi's shoulders. He slipped his fingers inside of her, causing her to gasp and moan loudly, making him smirk in satisfaction.

"What's this?" He whispered seductively into her ear. "Do I…_excite_ you…my sweet, cherry blossom?"

Sakura purred and bit her lip as he began penetrating her with his fingers. Her body quivered when he pulled out his fingers and he rubbed them together, smirking. Though, he stopped when Sakura squeezed his hips with her legs and forced him onto his back, so she was on top and straddling his waist. She grinned at him devilishly before trailing her fingers down his torso, tracing the lines of his muscles and placing soft kisses across his hip bones. Itachi's body jerked when she grasped him and he took in a shaky breath when she began to gently stroke him.

_I don't think anyone has ever touched him this way…_Sakura mused to herself as she felt him relax, but his hands were still gripping the blankets. _I better make this good._

Sakura cupped his balls and softly massaged him while her other hand stroked him faster. She placed the tip of her tongue on his base and slowly followed the vein to the tip, earning her a stifled moan from Itachi. She grinned and decided to turn it up a notch; slowly, she took him in her mouth and used her tongue to massage him as she bobbed her. Itachi's pleasurable gasps reached her ears, so Sakura focused a little bit of chakra to her finger tips as she worked faster. Itachi's body tightened and he inhaled sharply when Sakura slid him completely into her throat, but his hand weaved into her hair and pulled her away.

She looked up at him with confusion etched into her features, until she saw the raw passion shimmering in his onyx eyes. Sweat matted his hair down to his face and caused his skin to glisten deliciously and his mouth was parted as he breathed hard. Sakura's mind went blank when she blinked her eyes and she was lying on her back with Itachi between legs and her bottom raised slightly. He looked deep into her eyes, searching for approval, before he carefully placed himself at her core.

Sakura and Itachi's eyes never left each others as he entered her, both of them moaning in pleasure as he pulled out slightly before entering again; he continued to do this until he was completely inside of her. Sakura trembled in bliss as she felt him fill her and gripped his arms tightly as he moved his thrusts faster. She arched her back and met his thrusts with her own, causing Itachi to lean into her and embrace her; he placed soft kisses along her shoulder and collarbone. After several moments, both of them were breathing hard and sweat glazed their skins; Itachi began thrusting harder into her, causing her to scream out in pleasure as she neared her climax. After a few powerful thrusts and after Sakura took her nails _out_ of Itachi's back, Itachi slowly pulled out and dropped to her side.

Sakura felt the darkness close in around her, her body more relaxed than it had been in years and humming with the actions just taken. She curled into Itachi as he pulled her close and covered them both with a blanket. She vaguely remembered him kissing her forehead as she succumbed to the sleep that had eluded her since the funeral.

* * *

Tsunade glared at the two jounin before her. Shikamaru and Kiba shifted uncomfortably before her as they exchanged looks. She ignored them and looked back at the letter in her hand that she received not hours before these two came bursting into her office.

"We're serious," Kiba whined. "Neji-san sent us back because he thought she was in danger. But…she didn't look like she was…in fact, she seemed pretty safe."

Shikamaru elbowed Kiba in the ribs.

"Ow, dude!" He growled. "You saw it too. The shark guy was acting all overprotective and shit…Ouch! Cut that out!"

"Enough!" Tsunade bellowed. "Both of you, out of my office!"

The two walked out of her office, Kiba cursing at Shikamaru. Once again, Tsunade heaved a heavy sigh and rubbed her forehead. She knew very well the situation presented before her, but she also knew _the truth_ behind it all. As far as she knew, there weren't many who what really occurred that night, but among them were herself, Kakashi, and Jiraiya…and of course the council knew of this.

She leaned back and reread the letter requesting her presence in the Land of Waves. It was urgent, she could tell by the way it was hastily written and it almost seemed desperate. She looked over the name that was signed at the bottom; in all her years, she would have never thought _he_ would ask for her.

Tsunade leaned forward and called in Shizune, who was now standing before her, confusion and worry all over her face. Without another word, she wrote down a few names on a sheet of paper and handed it over.

"Bring them to me."

Shizune blinked at the names and looked up. "But why, milady?"

Tsunade sighed one more time, silently cursing Shizune for confiscating her sake. "Because we have a mission."

* * *

Sakura smiled as the last nights events resurfaced in her mind and she burrowed deeper in the blankets. She opened her eyes then, noticing that she was alone. Quickly, she ripped the blankets off of her, not caring that she was stark naked, and looked around the room. Sakura called when she spotted Itachi sitting in the chair by the window, wearing his yukata loosely, his eyes focused once again on a file in his hands…his file.

She dropped her head. If Tsunade had known that Sakura had stolen Itachi's file _years_ ago, she would most likely be rotting in a jail cell at this time. But, she could resist it when she had found the file hidden under a seal in the records within the library; she needed to know more, she needed to understand what had happened…but there was so much missing. The last dated mission in his file was four months before the massacre had happened; something _huge_ had to have happened to have such an impact on his life. He had gone from a model ninja, dedicated to Konoha in more ways than she could grasp, but then…

Silently, Sakura stood from the bed; a sheet wrapped around her body, and wrapped her arms around Itachi's neck.

"I still don't get it," she muttered into his hair. "I know you didn't do it alone, no one could have. But, all of those missions dated there…"

Itachi said nothing, but leaned into her touch.

"As a medic-nin," she started again. "I have noticed many things. One thing that caught my attention is that whenever a squad came in and stated that they had run into you, none of them had ever died. Horribly injured, yes, but they were _alive_. Also, you never once took your chance to take Naruto-kun…in fact…it was almost as if you were _protecting_ him from the other members of the Akatsuki…" She moved so that she was now kneeling in front of him, looking him dead in the eyes. "_What happened,_ Itachi-kun?"

He sighed, allowing all of his fatigue to surface in that one moment. "I was _ordered_ to do it."

* * *

_Holy crap...that took f-o-r-e-v-e-r! _

_It was so hard to focusing on writing that lemon scene, I had to keep pausing and getting my boyfriend to help "inspire" me. _

_Tell me what you think...I know I could do better, but seriously, it's hard writing those scenes and not getting hot and bothered yourself. I'm just lucky I live with my boyfriend._

_The next chapter will be up shortly. I promise.  
_


	9. Chapter 9

_Ok, I am sooo very sorry about that last chapter. I know that last lemon sucked totally ass, but I made it up to you this time. This chapter is really good, I promise. I had rewritten the lemon in this chapter like 8 times...and I'm still not satisfied with it, but it works for me. _

* * *

_Cherry Blossoms:_

_A Shadow in the Mind_

_Chapter Nine:_

_All Because of One Beautiful Cherry Blossom_

Sakura stared at Itachi, registering what he had just said.

"Ordered to? By who?" She asked before thinking.

Itachi closed his eyes. "The Hokage…"

Silence crept into the room. Sakura looked at her hands, trying to accept his words, but she found it hard to.

"I was ordered to spy on the Hokage by my father, once I had reached ANBU." He explained for her, though he still hadn't looked at her. "I had already known of the hatred my clan harbored for the Leaf village, but I never felt it. I idolized the Hokage; I wanted to help him with his idea of peace…" A soft smile adorned his face, but turned into a dark scowl. "I remember when my father told me the clan's plans to start a revolution against Konoha…a war."

Sakura gasped. So, the Uchiha clan wanted to start a war?

"I couldn't allow that…" Itachi whispered venomously. "I told the Hokage the moment I got the chance to. It was then, that I realized, I was a spy for the Hokage…a double agent. It was also then that I realized that I would do anything for Konoha."

The gears started turning her mind and Sakura sat up straight. "So they ordered you to kill your family in the dead of the night." He merely nodded, his eyes hooded by his hair. Sakura instantly held him in her arms and tangled her fingers in his hair; when she spoke next, it was barely above a whisper. "I understand now. You took the blame for everything, to clear Konoha's name…but you couldn't kill your brother."  
"I couldn't…kill Sasuke…" He murmured into her chest as he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist. "That is why _they_ let him live. I took the blame under one condition…that Sasuke would only blame me. I didn't want him to know the evil of our family."

"And so you joined the Akatsuki." She gasped again. "I remember Jiraiya-sama talking to Kakashi-san about a _connection_ he had in the Akatsuki. It was you, wasn't it?"

He nodded again and tightened his hold around her waist.

"All this time…" Tears fell down Sakura's face, "you were really the true hero of Konoha. You were protecting us all by being the enemy…Oh Itachi-kun…"

Sakura dug her fingers into his shoulders as she felt his pain. This entire time he spoke, Sakura had been using her chakra to detect any hint of change in his chakra and pulse, but they remained constant…no one was good enough to keep themselves in check like that if they were lying. She placed soft kisses over his stunned face as more tears cascaded down her face.

Several months ago, if anyone would've told her that she would be holding _the_ Uchiha Itachi in her arms and cried over his pain, she would've have laughed in their faces. Now, Sakura clung to him as she shed her tears for him, and silently vowed to make sure he is given the peace he has fought so hard for.

The two remained in that embrace for several moments, until Itachi shifted and lifted his gaze to her own. Sakura's breath hitched as she saw a smile, a _true smile_, gracing his features. He smoothed her trembling bottom lip with his thumb and chuckled lightly.

"I feel…lighter…" he mumbled as he leaned forward and captured her lips in a soft, but passionate kiss.

Sakura let out a soft giggle, though it sounded more like a hiccup, when they parted. She allowed a warm smile to spread onto her face and pushed the hair out of Itachi's face.

A cough at the door made them both freeze and look at the intruders. Kisame stood with a huge grin on his face, and a slight blush, beside a rather livid Kiske. Seconds ticked by and no one moved, and in this time, Sakura realized that the sheet she had covering herself with had slipped down, giving Kisame and Kiske a good view of her back and the side of her breast.

Sakura clenched her fist tightly and slapped the other across her chest, a death aura clinging to her as she glared at Kisame.

"Kis-A-ME!" She growled out, pronouncing each syllable of his name with more venom than the last. "Get. Out! Or I'll turn you into SUSHI!"

The next moment, Sakura was stalking towards the door, the sheet wrapped around her body once more. Kisame had bolted out of the way, taking Kiske with him, and ran down the hall, his laughter echoing off the walls. She slammed the door shut and glared at the wood, as if hoping to set it on fire under the heat of her anger.

Itachi laughed softly from behind her, startling Sakura slightly. She spun around and saw him approaching her slowly. The light for the morning sun framed his body, making him look like an angel. Once he reached her, he gripped her chin and smirked.

"Why don't you take a shower, then dress…mm…into something elegant," His gaze flickered to her lips before returning to her eyes. "Then seek me out in my office."

Sakura nodded once as he leaned in and kissed her lips before walking around her. He casually opened the door and walked out of the room, an aura of calmness surrounding him as he softly shut the door, leaving a clearly stunned kunoichi to sink to the floor.

* * *

"Repeat that, again," Itachi ground out as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

He had barely just gotten cleaned up and changed when Kisame sought him out and loudly pronounced a Leaf Shinobi had been working as a servant. This was getting on his nerves, especially since he had an entire day set aside to take out Sakura, to make up for the embarrassing night they had spent together.

"I'm tellin' ya," Kisame waved his hands around, "I found the brat…and now he is gone…"

"_Who_ was it?" Itachi whispered dangerously.

"Ugh…" Kisame scratched his face. "I believe it was a Hyūga…"

"_What_?" Itachi hissed out.

"Yeah, he was posing as Kiske." He shrugged. "I found him lurking outside Sakura-chan's room this morning…"

He was cut off by the sound of Itachi's hand's slamming down on his desk, sending papers flying everywhere. He growled deep in his throat as he stormed out of his office and down the hall, Kisame closely tailing him.

How had he not known? Of course, he knew there was _something_ wrong with _Kiske_, but that was why Itachi had made sure his duties didn't include Sakura. The way he looked at her…it was almost possessive…

In his haste, Itachi passed a wall of windows and took a glance outside. He stopped short, almost losing his balance, and stared openly at the scene before him: Sakura was kneeling under a tree, her long pink tresses were put up the way they usually were, except this time there were white flowers weaved into it. She wore a white kimono with a black obi around her trim waist and pale pink petals were embroidered into the sleeves and the bottom of it. He watched as she stood and a small bird flew from the other side of her and straight into the sky, where her face was now facing. Itachi's eyes widened as he saw a slight smile form on those tempting lips and a shimmer of happiness glittered in her emerald eyes.

At that moment, Itachi completely forgot why he was in such a hurry. His anger had completely evaporated the moment his eyes rested on the pink-haired beauty.

Sakura turned her head and their gazes met. Itachi's heart leapt into his throat, a feeling he had never felt before, and he watched as an even bigger smile spread on her face as she gathered the front of her kimono and made her way towards the nearest door, but a in an instant, Sakura was gone and all that was left were her slippers on the ground.

A deep growl erupted from Itachi's throat as he slammed his fist against the glass, causing it to shatter. He leapt through the window and quickly began searching the area with his sharingan.

Kisame released the jutsu on his sword and sniffed out the area. He pointed towards the woods and the two were off in flash.

* * *

"What the hell!?" Sakura screeched as the arms around her tightened. She struggled in her capture's grip and let out a cry of fury. "PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT!"

"No can do, Haruno-san," a dark voice replied flatly.

Sakura froze; she knew that voice. "Neji?"

He didn't reply.

Sakura freed her hands and in moments, she had freed herself by numbing the nerves in Neji's arms. He dropped her, but Sakura landed gracefully onto the forest floor, glaring daggers at Neji, who landed before her. The two just stood there before Sakura's anger erupted inside of her.

"What the hell, Neji!?" She growled out. "What do you think you were doing?"

He narrowed his lavender eyes. "Rescuing you."

_Unbelievable!_ She crossed her arms. "Did it look like I needed _rescuing_?"

"As a matter of fact, it did," he growled. "You cannot stand there and tell me you slept with _him_ on your own will."

Sakura let out a hollow laugh. "Before you get the wrong ideas, perhaps you should have _listened _to what was being said this morning, before jumping to conclusions." Neji just stared at her, so she continued. "I _did_ sleep with Itachi-kun. And he is one of the most honorable men I have ever met. Uchiha Itachi is a _true_ shinobi of the Hidden Leaf!"

Neji snarled. "You're a traitor…"

Anger flared inside of Sakura, but she couldn't react to it because two men appeared in front of her. Kisame had his sword ready for battle, but remained calm and radiated…amusement? Itachi, however, seemed absolutely livid, but stood in a non-aggressive stance.

"She _is not_ a traitor." Itachi spat out. "I have already taken the liberty of contacting the Hokage and asked for her presence." Every one, save for Itachi, went completely rigid and stared at him in shock. "So, why don't we head back and wait _patiently_ like the mature adults we all are."

Neji tensed, but nodded once before following the two former s-class criminals out of the forest. Sakura fell into step beside the proud shinobi and took in a calm breath.

"Let me heal your arms." She said with a soft tone.

Again, Neji only nodded and kept his gaze straight.

Sakura focused her chakra to her hands, emitting a green glow, and placed them gently on his limp arms. Once both were finished, Sakura folded her hands behind her back and stared at the sky as they walked.

"You know," her voice was still soft, but held a hint of affection to it, "they aren't so bad. We are all the same, us shinobi. We follow our orders and don't ask questions." She sighed and let her gaze drift to Itachi's back. "If you give them a chance, they might even grow on you. Though, I wouldn't suggest going to a bar with _Kisa-kun_."

"Hey," Kisame shouted. "Don't call me that!"

Sakura huffed and looked back at Neji, who was staring at her with unbelieving eyes.

"Don't give me that look," Sakura pouted. "I'm sure you can learn some things from these two. They are just full of surprises."

"I don't know if I should be insulted or not…" She heard Kisame mumble and Itachi grunt in response.

The rest of the walk was spent in silence. When they reached the house, the four of them sat in the dining room and drank hot tea, while Sakura told Neji the truth about Itachi's past. She could feel Itachi tense and she placed a comforting hand on his thigh while they waited for Neji's response.

"Who helped you?" Neji asked slowly, narrowing his eyes slightly.

Itachi raised his head and Sakura swore that when their eyes met, the room froze.

When he did reply, it was quiet, almost like a whisper. "Uchiha Madara."

Sakura ended up choking on her tea and Neji's façade fell as he gaped like a fish out of water. Kisame, however, looked thoroughly amused by everyone's reactions.

"So it's true then," Neji mumbled. "I thought Sasuke-san was lying when he was being interrogated."

There was a deafening silence before Itachi gracefully stood and straightened his yukata. "You are welcome to stay here as long as wish. I will have a room set up for you to stay in. However, you must excuse me; I believe that Sakura-chan and I have a date." At that, he helped a blushing Sakura to her feet.

Once the two were alone, Sakura gaped at Itachi and pulled at his sleeve to make him stand still.

"You seriously asked Lady Tsunade to come _here_?" She asked in a hushed tone.

He smiled softly. "I did."

"And you're sure they won't arrest you?" She asked again.

Itachi cupped her face and rubbed her cheek gently. "Lady Tsunade is among the few who know the truth; I'm sure Jiraiya-sama told her and Hatake Kakashi."

Sakura furrowed her brow in frustration. "That much I get, but what about Kisame?"

He chuckled lightly, a pleasant sound. "He didn't really agree with what the Akatsuki were doing to begin with. I'm sure he would easily become a citizen, if not a shinobi of the Leaf. _Anything_ to get to fight Maito Gai again."

Sakura smiled, content with his answer, for now. Her breath caught in her throat as he leaned in and his soft lips gently touched her own. She could feel him smile as her heart race and pulse to pound, but to her dismay, Itachi pulled away with a rather smug grin on his face.

She stared after him with a dazed look on her face; Itachi was rapidly changing into a more outgoing person with a slightly _odd_ sense of humor.

"Well, are you coming?" Itachi stopped and glanced at her over his shoulder. "_Sakura-chan_?"

Sakura tensed and a blush covered her entire face and neck. She had been looked at lustfully by several men, and a few women, in her life…but none of them were so _intense_. Sakura could actually feel his gaze burning her flesh through her clothes…

"Of course," she replied timidly.

* * *

There was a rustling of the leaves and the snapping of twigs behind Tsunade as she sat at the edge of the camp, staring at the moon. She didn't need look behind her to know it was Kakashi who was so ungracefully approaching her.

"Lady Tsunade," his deep baritone voice lulled in a bored tone, "I understand the precautions needed to be taken, but putting Sasuke in a jutsu-induced sleep and placing chakra cuffs on him seems a bit…far."

She turned to see the silver haired jounin not even looking at her, but at a bat flying above him. Throughout the trip, he had been completely withdrawn and more anti-social than normal; it was to the point where he hadn't once cracked open his _Icha Icha_ book since he heard the news about their dear Sakura.

Tsunade sighed loudly. "I know it is a bit much, but the moment he sees them he is going to be hard to contain. We have to keep in mind that the poor boy was led to believe his older brother is a heartless murderer."

He nodded once, but the emptiness in his eye seemed to only darken.

"I know you are worried about her," she spoke quietly so that only he could hear. "I'm not blind, Kakashi-san, _I know_."

She watched as he body tensed, but he didn't say a word more.

The two sat in silence a little longer, both looking at the members of those in the camp. Several ANBU were hidden amongst the trees, but there were a few guarding a sleeping Sasuke who was indeed restrained by chakra cuffs. Naruto was sitting nearby; a troubled look on his face as he stared into the fire and Shino was beside him, his face pointed at the sky. Anko was curled under a tree, close to Ibiki who was glaring daggers at Sai while he slept.

_How did Sakura ever put up these guys?_ Tsunade thought to herself as Kakashi made his way to Tanzou's side.

* * *

"Kisame! You cheat!" Sakura screamed as water encased her entire body.

Kisame laughed at the trapped kunoichi and sipped his sake while his clone held the jutsu.

"LET ME OUT OF HERE!" She shouted; she was sure the heat of her anger was making the water boil.

"Not until you admit your mistake." He spoke in a teasing voice.

Sakura growled at the giant shark and imagined herself feeding him to the servants as sushi.

She sighed in defeat. "I should have known I was fighting your clone. But when you don't use your sword, it's hard to tell."

"Hm?" He looked at her with a surprised expression.

Sakura smirked. "You're not invincible, Kisame-kun. I know that your 'endless supply of chakra' actually belongs to your sword. Your own chakra is nowhere near as vast. So, when you use a clone, it's easy to figure out by how the slow of chakra."

Kisame laughed and released the jutsu, causing Sakura to fall onto her hands and knees on the fluctuating surface of the water. She was completely drenched from head to foot and her long pink tresses clung to her body, as did her black mesh tank top and black short jorts.

"You know," Kisame mumbled as she approached the shore. "I would use Samehada against you, but it seems to like you a little more than normal."

"Maybe it's developed a crush on her," Itachi spoke up from behind them.

Sakura turned around and looked up at bruised and exhausted Itachi, a small smile playing on his lips as his eyes never left Sakura's.

"After all," he was now speaking in that oh-so tempting tone he used when in the bedroom, "who could resist her charms?"

"Sakura-san," Neji's voice spoke low from behind Itachi, his tone taking on a similar one to Itachi's. "You may want to look at Itachi-san's eyes, he-"

"What did you do?" Sakura demanded as she was suddenly on her feet and inches from the dangerous Uchiha.

Itachi didn't reply, but merely reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

She sighed and raised her hands to his face. Carefully, Sakura focused her chakra to her palms and began checking the damage to his retinas. She gasped as she felt the extensive tissue damage and clicked her tongue at his unusual carelessness. Sakura began her healing of his eyes, finally happy that he trusted her enough to touch them; though she had to admit that not even she could prevent him going blind, she could only slow it.

"There," she said softly as she lowered her hands to her waist. "Now open your eyes _slowly_. Otherwise you are going to undo all the work I just did."

Sakura watched as Itachi opened his eyes slowly, revealing his stunning onyx irises. The two stared at each other for a moment, then out of the blue, Itachi swept Sakura into his arms and carried her towards the house; leaving behind Kisame roaring in laughter and Neji grumbling about taking a bath.

"You know," Sakura mumbled, trying to hide her fierce blush, "you didn't have to pick me up. I can walk just fine."

"Where is the fun in that?" He chuckled lightly.

Sakura tensed, causing the Uchiha to stop and glance down at her. She narrowed her eyes at him and jabbed an accusing finger into his chest. "Who are you and what have you done with _my_ Ita-kun?"

"_Your Ita-kun_?" He laughed again. "He finally relaxed and decided to live again; all because of one beautiful cherry blossom."

Sakura's face softened and she smiled warmly at him. They rounded the corner and Itachi kicked his door open. He slipped off his shoes and continued to the bathroom to turn fill the tub.

Sakura's blush deepened when she realized that he intended for them to bathe _together_. She remained still on her feet when Itachi set her down and began searching through the cabinets for towels and soaps. She watched as he sat on the edge of the tub and began pouring in sweet smelling salts and mixed it with the warm water, his black hair hanging in his face as he moved. Subconsciously, Sakura approached him and pushed his hair behind his ear, earning her a warm smile and a kiss on the back of her hand.

He stood suddenly, leaned forward, and kissed her forehead softly before nuzzling her temple with his cheek. "Wait here."

Still in a daze, Sakura sat on the edge of the tub and ran her fingers over the surface of the water as Itachi left the bathroom. She heard him shuffling around in the bedroom and she smiled as she remembered how their _relationship_, if she could dare call it that, developed; during their date a few days ago, it seemed innocent but the villagers seemed to believe she was his betrothed and Itachi kept playing with the idea by publicly displaying his affection. But he didn't stop there, oh no, he acted even worse—well ok, it isn't _that_ bad—in private.

Sakura assumed that this drastic change in Itachi's personality had something to do with him finally taking hold of his life and not letting the shadows of his past haunt him. His emotions had come back full force, and she was enjoying this adorable puppy side of the great Uchiha.

A giggle escaped her lips as she hugged herself tightly, but stopped when she realized she was still clad in her sopping wet clothing. Mindlessly, she stood and slid off her now heavy shorts and tossed them to the side before peeling her shirt off her sides, revealing her heavily bruised stomach and what was left of the bra she had been wearing that day. Tossing the shirt to the side, Sakura unclasped her bra and set to work healing her stomach, but made sure to just lighten the bruises.

"Someone's eager," Itachi joked from the door way.

Sakura looked up and immediately felt her heart skip a beat for Itachi had taken off everything _except_ his black boxers that hung loosely off his hips. Through the weeks of his recovery, Itachi had regained his muscular form but kept his hair shoulder length; his once pale skin was now a beautiful gold from his training this past week and the light danced off of him, making it seem as if he were glowing while he held a bottle of sake in one hand and two small cups in the other.

"Wouldn't want to keep my dear lord waiting," Sakura replied coyly. "Now would I?"

Itachi smirked and walked over to her, his dark eyes oozing with lust as they traveled over her body. He closed the distance between them and set the sake and cups on the side of the tub; he grasped her wrists from her sides and raised the palms of her hands to his serene mouth. He kissed them softly and stared directly into her eyes.

"You are so beautiful," he whispered against her palms.

Sakura slipped her hand from his and caressed his face, running her thumb over his cheek. She pressed her body against his and slid her arm around his neck. The room seemed to get smaller and time seemed to stop for the two as they just remained in that embrace, their eyes locked, speaking more words of then they themselves could; words of their deepest emotions and most sinful desires.

They were pulled out of their revere by the soft tinkle of water dripping onto the hard ground, causing them to pull apart and laugh nervously as they shut off the water and drained some of it. Itachi grabbed the towels and tossed them to the ground to soak up some of the water while Sakura adjusted the temperature of the bath. She hummed softly to herself, unaware of the tender gaze Itachi was giving her, and slipped off the remains of her clothing before slipping into the warm water.

A moan escaped her lips as she tilted her head back and looked at her lover from the corner of her eyes, and watched him follow suit by taking off his only article of clothing. Sakura's eyes were immediately drawn to his fully erect manhood surrounded by thick dark hair. She refused to blush like a nervous virgin as he walked towards her and dropped himself into the water.

The heat of the water enveloped them both and relaxed their tired muscles. They each took a bar of soap and washed each other's body slowly, the heat of the moment causing them to sometimes deliberately move farther south than needed an brush against a sensitive and intimate area. Once they finished, the two relaxed and enjoyed their sake as it relaxed them entirely. They spoke of their week and their thoughts of the future; they debated over the outcome of his trial, which brought up the final question Sakura knew Itachi had been burning to ask her.

"Would you stay here?" He asked quietly, absently playing with her hair.

"Hm?" She furrowed her brow and stopped tracing her fingers over his stomach.

She felt Itachi straighten and clasp her chin. He lifted her head so he could look her directly in the eye, his eyes holding something far deeper in their depths than the lust he so blatantly showed her. It took her breath away.

"Stay here, with me." He sounded as though he were pleading; his voice was soft and low and held desperation. "Please, Sakura."

She felt her heart leap at his words and she held her breath, but only for a moment.

A few agonizing seconds ticked by before Sakura was able to use her voice, but it came out weak and breathy. "Of course, Itachi. I'll stay here."

A rather large grin stretched across his face as he visibly relaxed and swept her into his arms. His mouth crashed down onto her own in a kiss that released all of his passion. His breath mixed with hers as they were lost in each other; their hands traveling anywhere and everywhere and at some point, Sakura ended up in his lap. Her hips rocked against his as their kiss deepened, their tongues in that ever fighting battle for dominance. The heat between them soon became unbearable in the tub, causing the two to end their kiss and breathe heavily as they looked into each other's eyes.

"Perhaps," Itachi spoke in a deep and husky tone, "we should move to the bedroom."

Sakura merely nodded as they stood and stepped onto the now cold floor. They didn't bother drying off or draining the tub as they hurried to the room. Itachi caught Sakura in his arms before she reached the bed and pressed her front against the post of the bed; he placed soft kisses along her neck and shoulder as he ran his hands of her wet body. The sensations from these small acts were causing Sakura's blood race in her veins and made her bite her lip as Itachi slipped himself between her legs and teased her womanhood by rocking his hips. Jolts of pleasure ran through her body and the proof of her arousal was slick between her legs.

Itachi moaned softly into her hair when Sakura began moving her body with his. He bit down on her neck and Sakura gasped as the pain quickly turned to pleasure. Having enough of the teasing, Sakura pushed back on the post and drove Itachi away, but quickly spun around and pulled him down on top of her as she landed on the bed. Without warning, Sakura wrapped her arms around Itachi's neck and pulled him down for another kiss, though it was more chaste than their previous.

Itachi nipped at Sakura's bottom lip, before lowering his lips to her chin and kissed a path down her neck; momentarily nibbling on her collar bone as he made his way to the valley between her breasts. Sakura's body hummed with pleasure as Itachi hovered above her perk rose-buds; she felt the warmth and wetness of his tongue gently caress her nipple, causing a pleasurable gasp to escape her mouth. Itachi chuckled lightly as he nipped at the rose-bud and kissed it softly before doing the same to the other. Sakura felt her lover trail his tongue over her toned stomach and circle her navel before scooting down; Itachi planted kisses along her inner thighs and around her womanhood, allowing his breath of wash over her sensitive areas. Sakura's body shivered with anticipation as she waited for him to move and she bit her lip to keep from making a sound as his tongue flicked the sensitive tip of her lips. She wasn't prepared when he took her into his mouth and sucked on her gently between his teeth; her legs jerked in response and tightened on his shoulders.

"Oh Kami…" Sakura gasped out when he nipped on her sensitive lips and slipped a finger inside of her.

She felt him move his finger slightly and massaged her sensitive lips with his tongue. Pleasure wracked her body and her hips met the thrusts of Itachi's finger and tongue. Her moans increased as his movements sped up and her back arched as the intensity of the pleasure grew to her climax. Sakura let out gasps as the pressure made her eyes water and her womanhood to burn from the heat; her entire body tensed as she felt the pleasure spread through her entire body and the release of her body exploded and dampened her sensitive skin below. Sakura sank into the bed as her rush ended and her body relaxed.

Itachi pulled himself up, so that he was once again level her face, and caressed her cheek as he kissed her passionately, the tangy-sweetness of her release lingered on Itachi's tongue as he thrust it into her mouth.

"Are you ready?" He asked her, his voice deep and darkly husky as he breathed heavily into her ear.

Sakura merely nodded, her body heating up to and readying itself to accept him. She felt his tip press against her core before entering her slowly. She moaned loudly and her body shuddered in sheer wanton pleasure as he slipped completely into her; Itachi groaned between the kisses he placed on her neck and shoulder.

Sakura held onto Itachi as he began moving, his thrusts slow and teasing, and she made a pleasing tone in her throat as she, too, moved against him. Itachi began picking up the pace, his hips crashed against hers and their combined moans grew louder with each thrust. Sakura reveled in the growing ecstasy and ground her hips against his every time they touched. She felt something animalistic awaken inside her, so Sakura used her weight, with the help of some precise chakra control, to shift and roll on top of Itachi.

She placed her hands on his chest and smiled at Itachi's surprised face as she began to grind against him. He rested his hands on her hips and guided her movements so that she could move faster; she straightened her form and tilted her head back, murmuring incoherent words. The sensitive tip of her lower lips rubbed against Itachi's soft skin, increasing Sakura's pleasure and brought her that much closer to her second climax.

Suddenly, Itachi sat up and wrapped an arm around her waist while the other kept his balance on the bed. He hid his face in her chest and drilled up into her; Sakura tiled her head back and moaned loudly with each thrust. She felt herself going over the edge when Itachi took a perk nipple into his mouth and sucked on it lightly, his own moans lost in his throat when he bit down.

Again, Itachi shifted their position by lifting Sakura's leg over his head and resting her on her his side. He drilled into her harder than he was before the moment his hands brushed against Sakura's flushed flesh. The ecstasy became too much for the pinkette and she began screaming out Itachi's name; again the pressure caused Sakura's eyes to water and her vision to blur, her inner walls squeezed tightly on Itachi the closer she became to finishing and he responded by digging his nails into her skin, drawing blood in the process. Sakura gripped the sheets and cried out when Itachi's thrusts became rough and tense, announcing that Itachi was close as well. In the next moment, both Itachi and Sakura's bodies tensed when they slammed together and cried out as they released; she felt his seed spill inside of her while her own fluids pushed back on it.

Itachi's body relaxed and he collapsed beside the pinkette, pulling out in the process. He wrapped his arms around his pink-haired lover and pulled her into his body, the heat of their passion lulling them into a tired slumber…

Which was short lived by an obnoxious rapping on the wooden door.

"L-lord Itachi, s-s-sir," a nervous stutter spoke on the other side, undoubtedly from hearing their cries. "The H-Hokage has arrived."

* * *

_So how was that? Good? Passionate? _

_The next couple of chapters are going to be harder to write because Sasuke and Itachi have been reunited. Imagine how that is going to be...also, Tsunade notices something about three sharingan users that involves our beloved Sakura. And where the hell did Kisame go?_

_Thanks for reading ^^_

_~Ell  
_


	10. Chapter 10

_So this chapter is shorter than the others and a but rushed. I kind of want to end this story because I feel I have dragged this out. Please enjoy though._

* * *

_Cherry Blossoms:_

_A Shadow in the Mind_

_Chapter 10:_

_What Keeps Us Together_

Sakura soon found herself in the main room; both herself and Itachi were dressed in their finest kimonos and sitting before a group of Leaf ninja. Tsunade sat across from them, a hard look on her face, and beside her was Naruto who seemed to be having an internal struggle as his eyes darted from Itachi, Sakura, Tsunade, and Sasuke, who was awake and being held down by Anko, Kakashi, and two other ANBU agents. The stillness of the room was unbearable as Sakura sighed lightly, but she stayed vigilant for any signs of a threat.

Neji, who sat on the other side of Itachi, cleared his throat to ease the tension and addressed the matter at hand.

"It is hard to accept, I know," his voice was low and professional, "but after the affair with Hiruko and Kakashi-san it isn't impossible."

Sakura had almost forgotten about that; when Tsunade, Kakashi, and Shikamaru had made the plan for Kakashi to sacrifice himself for "the good of the village". Unfortunately, none of them had planned on Naruto's passion to protect his friends and his loyalty to live by Kakashi's standards.

Sakura saw Naruto's head drop and heard a deadly growl erupt from his throat.

"How many more _secrets_ are you hiding from us, _old hag_," Naruto ground out through clenched teeth.

"That is enough, Naruto." Tsunade responded with venom. "Mistakes were made and more than enough had suffered because of them. Now is our chance to right what was wrong."

"I couldn't agree more," Itachi spoke up for the first time since he ended his story. "I only hope that Sasuke-kun can forgive me."

All eyes suddenly shifted to Sasuke, who tensed visibly under his restraints. His sharingan was active and focused not on his brother, but on Sakura. The only people who saw this were also sharingan users and they, too, rested their heated gaze, all of their eyes active, onto the now trembling pinkette. Tiny pin needles could be felt pricking her delicate skin from the crimson eyes that bore into her.

"I-I…" Sakura stammered and lowered her head. She couldn't understand what was suddenly happening to her; she couldn't breathe under such close scrutiny and her heart was racing at an alarming rate.

A hand was placed on her own and she looked to see Tsunade's grinning features, her age lines deepened by the stress of their current situation.

She cleared her throat and sat back, catching everyone's attention. "As the Godaime Hokage, I hereby forgive your past indiscretions and reappoint you to ANBU captain, if you will have it. Before everyone here, I shall also name you Konoha's Tragic Hero."

A soft sigh escaped Itachi's mouth and he bowed his head. "I accept, however, I do not wish to be a ninja any longer. In my life, I have seen more death than anyone should ever see."

"I understand," Tsunade replied, slightly surprised.

"Now then," Itachi suddenly stood to his full height and held in place a warm smile. "I understand your journey hear has taken quite a toll on all of you. Therefore, I shall have rooms ready for each of you shortly and tomorrow evening we will have a banquet to celebrate. For now, go and enjoy the town, at my expense of course, and I shall send someone to retrieve each of you when your rooms are finished."

Everyone seemed happy by this and quietly began leaving the room. Sakura rose beside Itachi and looked up at him, warning him about taking care of the bills. Though, he seemed to be oblivious for his eyes were directed to his little brother.

"However," Itachi's voice seemed softer now, and those left in the room paused. "I would like to speak with my brother alone for a moment. Kakashi-san, Anko-san, please release him."

The two looked at each other uncertainly, but walked away from Sasuke, as did the other two ANBU agents. Sasuke stood completely still as he sized up his brother, but didn't show any signs of attacking.

"Itachi…" Sakura spoke quietly, but stopped when she saw the hard look in his eyes. She nodded once and walked out of the room with Neji at her side.

* * *

Itachi side once everyone was out of the room. His uneasiness only grew as his eyes rested on his little brother; Sasuke's eyes seemed glued to the door, his body rigid and tense. Happiness at seeing his baby brother as the grown man he was sending his heart fluttering, but was short lived when he rounded to look at him and his crimson eyes were fraught with pain and confusion.

"Everything I was led to believe," Sasuke ground out in a harsh, pained whisper, "was a lie? Konoha was responsible for this? Mom…Dad…they died because of…"

"Enough," Itachi growled. "They were the leaders of the rebellion. You will _not_ allow you to harm _anyone_, Sasuke. What I did, I did to _prevent_ war and I will continue to fight for the Hidden Leaf."

Sasuke grew quiet, his eyes focused on the floor. He seemed to have deactivated his Sharingan and the tenseness eased. "So…what about Sakura-chan?"

Itachi furrowed his brow and eyed his brother closely. He had had noticed that Sasuke had not once looked at him during the meeting, his eyes seemed far too preoccupied by the rosette beauty. He took a step closer to his brother and lifted his chin so that they were eye-to-eye. Itachi's breath hitched in his throat at the sight of the younger Uchiha's eyes on the brink of tears.

"Little brother," Itachi's voice was low and warm, "you love her, don't you?"

No response. All Sasuke did was look off to the side and gulp loudly.

Itachi sighed and dropped his hand. "That makes two of us, Sasuke-kun. She truly is an incredible woman. She would make a fine mother of the next Uchiha generation, no?" He turned his back and walked up to the painting of a woman under a cherry tree. "Unfortunately, those children cannot be my own."

"Brother?" Sasuke asked, the child-like innocence in his tone making Itachi smile slightly.

"My illness, she had cured it," he closed his eyes, "but it was too late for part of me. I cannot give the family Sakura-chan deserves, I'm sterile." Itachi whirled around quickly and focused his eyes on his brother. "The fate of our clan is on your shoulders, Sasuke-kun. However, I will not give up my cherry blossom so easily."

A playful grin spread across Itachi's face as he eyed Sasuke, who returned a challenging smirk.

"You may want to watch your back, brother." Sasuke warned, suddenly serious. "There are more people in this game than you think."

"Oh?"

Sasuke looked at the door and a dark look formed on his face. "Kakashi-sensei, Neji, and I suspect The Kazekage are all in this as well."

Itachi's eyes widened in surprise; so his precious lover caught the eyes of three other formidable men, huh? He, too, had noticed the saddened look in the Copy-nin's eye as he watched her and Neji's feelings seemed to be misplaced. That also brought another question to resurface and darken Itachi's mood; could he be the one to claim Sakura's heart, or will one of the others beat him to it?

"Tell me, Sasuke-kun, were you and Sakura close?" He asked, his gaze on the door as well.

It took a moment for him to answer and his voice was merely a sad whisper. "She was going to marry me."

That one phrase set Itachi's mind; tomorrow he would call the Lady Hokage to his office and make the arrangements. Until then, he would have to enjoy as much of Sakura as he could.

* * *

Sakura walked down to the kitchens, a quiet and undisturbed walk, to check on the food for the late dinner. Once she neared the door, she was bombarded with all sorts of scents and noises. She opened the door and saw several cooks busying themselves as they cooked.

Sakura walked across the kitchen to the one lone cook at the stone oven. His tall hat obscured his white hair and his glasses slid down his hook nose from the sweat glistening on his aging face. This cook was one of her favorites among the workers; he was intelligent and knew of herbs that could heal and hinder, he would have made a wonderful medic-nin had he chosen that path in life. The only thing that unsettled her was his voice and the sickly sweet way he said her name.

"Ah, _Sakura_-san," he spoke in a tired voice as she stood by his side. "To what do I owe this _pleasure_?"

Sakura eyed him closely; something seemed different about him tonight. "The usual, Ketsue-san. May I?"

"Of course," he stepped aside and handed Sakura the ladle.

She smiled and stirred the soup in the pot before bringing it to her lips. The thick smell of the soup overwhelmed her senses, but she still set the ladle on her mouth and drank the small amount of liquid. The spices lingered on her tongue, and then she felt it, but it was too late; she could taste the bitterness of the herb and she grew instantly lightheaded. Sakura dropped the ladle and her knees buckled; somewhere in the distance, she heard panic and felt the release of a genjutsu.

"My my my," Ketsue's voice changed and sounded younger, oozing with malice, "the notorious Cherry Blossom falls at my feet." He knelt beside her and brushed the hair out of her face. "Who knew would grow into such a radiant beauty? Enough so that you caught the eye of even _him_."

Sakura shuddered, her vision going black, but before she fell unconscious, she saw the mismatched eyes of Orchimaru's still loyal servant. _I should have known…_she thought as he dropped his head lower to her own, their noses touching.

"Ka..bu..to…" Sakura whispered before falling into oblivion, his laughter echoing in her mind.

* * *

Itachi stretched as he signed the last document, it was done. A soft smile spread across his face as he stood and walked to the door, eager to hold Sakura in his arms one last time.

Suddenly, he felt the explosion of chakra. Something was wrong. He wrenched the door open and bolted to the kitchens, his heart sinking when he felt Sakura's chakra signature disappear completely. He growled low and teleported himself to the danger.

"You," Itachi spoke dangerously.

Kabuto looked up, Sakura cradled in his arms. "Ah, Itachi-kun, you came quicker than expected. No, matter," he caressed Sakura's face with his scaled hand.

"How dare you…touch her…" The angry voice of Kakashi growled from behind Itachi.

Before anyone could react, Kabuto blew out the wall of the mansion with a paper bomb and jumped out. Everyone in the kitchen followed and peered around, but there wasn't any sign of him.

"Neji," Itachi ground out, his anger reaching its peek.

"Right," the Hyūga answered, activating his Byakugan and scanning the woods. A few seconds later, he dropped his hands and sighed heavily. "Teleportation jutsu. There's no sign of them."

"Kakashi-san," Itachi whirled around, his body rigid with panic. "Can you use your dogs to track their scent? A teleportation jutsu cannot be used for long distances when there are two people. He will have to make stops."

Kakashi clenched his jaw but summoned his dogs. Itachi turned to Naruto and stood right in front of him.

"You're good at the multi-shadow clone jutsu, Naruto," He stated. "Use that to search the forest for the general distance they are headed in."

Naruto obliged by activating the jutsu and sending several clones in every possible direction. Sasuke stood next to Kakashi, both of them with their Sharingan active and their hands in their pouches.

"Everyone pack your items," Tsunade spoke from the kitchen, surrounded by her ANBU guards. "We leave as soon as you are all ready."

Without hesitation, all of the shinobi entered the house with haste. Itachi remained outside, his eyes scanning the woods. He was unaware that Tsunade had taken a spot beside him and rested a hand on his shoulder.

"We'll get her back," she whispered. "We'll get her back."

* * *

Sakura groaned, her body ached horribly and her fingers tingled from the shackles around her wrists. She recalled the events that had transpired in the kitchen, she could still taste the sedative on her tongue, and the crawling of her skin from _his_ touch. She tried using her chakra, but felt that it would respond to her.

_Chakra cuffs._ She realized, so she tried to hear for any sounds. She couldn't hear any breathing, or water dripping. She couldn't feel a breeze, but she shifted and felt that she was rested on a rather soft bed, and her kimono had been removed.

Sakura cracked her left eye open, the lights were off and there didn't seem to be any windows. She opened her other eye and looked around; sure enough, chakra cuffs had been placed around both her wrists and ankles, tying her to the bed beneath her. The kimono she had been wearing was on the chair beside the bed, leaving her in her bra and panties, but that was the least of her worries that the moment. The door at the other end of the room cracked open and a little light peered through and Sakura sucked in a breath.

A tall figure entered the room and closed the door quietly behind him. He didn't turn around, but rather kept his back to her.

"I'm glad to see that you have finally awakened," his voice was deep and soothing, but Sakura tensed. "I have already taken care of the way Kabuto-kun had handled the mission I gave him. I'm truly sorry if he had harmed you in any way."

"Who are you?" Sakura whispered out, her throat sore from the drug.

"Ah, yes," he chuckled slightly. "I already know who are and of your accomplishments, so my apologies if you haven't been informed of my own." He turned around and stepped forward to the edge of the bed, revealing his orange mask and one crimson eye that traveled along Sakura's exposed skin. "I am Madara Uchiha."

* * *

_So...yeah. Like I said, shorter than expected. I had several ideas for this chapter, but this one came out of the blue. I was going to have it end where Itachi asked Lady Tsunade for her blessing in marrying Sakura. Then I was going to have Itachi arrange a marriage between Sakura and Sasuke, but this sounded more action packed. _

_The next chapter is going to be huge so I had to get this out of the way. I plan to end the story in the next two chapters, so the climax will start in chapter 11. _

_Please don't be too harsh on this one, I know I can do better in the story, but I have a lot going on at the moment and it is hard for me to remain focused on this.  
_


	11. A Special & Very Important Announcement

Ok, I know it has been a long time, but I am going through _a lot_ in my life. I lost my job, I _did _get internet back recently, but then I lost my boyfriend of 3 years. Now, I'm looking for a new job and an apartment in Madison, WI that is pet friendly. Also, I am rewriting the story so that it will be, well better because I am very disappointed with this story, and that is an understatement.

I wanted to thank you all for reading and reviewing my story. A special thanks to RoseandtheDagger for giving me some pointers, and I hope that the revision will be up to expectation.

Thank you again,

Ell


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